Broken
by QueenLujei23
Summary: "Don't. Just...don't, okay?" Dawn Spectrum the fairy has arrived in a strange new world, and her life gets turned upside down. Now she apparently has a destiny to claim a throne that is not hers, and make many new friends. IgnisXOC. First fanfic! Rating might go up in the future.
1. Look to the Stars

_**Broken**_

 **A Final Fantasy 15 FanFiction**

 **I do not own FF 15 or it's characters. Square Enix does.**

 **This is my first fanfiction here, so I hope you enjoy! I recently watched a whole playthrough of 15 and I thought it was waaay better than what other people were saying it was. I connected with the characters, and the story, and I really want to get the game myself...but I don't have a PS4 :/ This is just a scene that I had in my head for a few days, and I just had to write it down. Please let me know if you would like to see more from me!**

 **My OC is one that I made up quite a while ago, and she just seemed perfect for the world of FF 15.**

 **Also, slight swearing.**

It was nighttime, the time for deamons. Time for anyone sane to find a safe place and bunker down until the sun would come and bring them  
peace and light. Time for the moon to show its smile that was underappreciated. However, for a certain redhead, this was the time to lie down and gaze at the twinkling stars.

Dawn had given up trying to sleep a while ago. Her head just could not stop running for the time being...a lot has happened in the past few days. Appearing here in this world, meeting these 4 strange men, and meeting her supposed mother for the first time...

That was the one thing that stuck out most in her mind. That woman claiming to be the very woman who had given her birth and left her on her own so very long ago. When Dawn's vibrant green eyes had met the woman's deep forest green ones, there were suddenly so many things her heart wanted to know even after years of thinking she had moved on. Why did she leave? Why couldn't she stay? Who even **was** she? Before these questions were asked however, the woman was gone. Like a breath in the chaos of a tornado.

Not even Dawn's incredible instinct could tell her what it all meant. It was so unusual...so cryptic...so...so...

 _Heartless._

" _No._ " Dawn thought to herself. " _It doesn't matter what she's done now. I've moved on. All that matters is knowing what the hell she has in store..._ "

Suddenly, she heard movement. The creaking of metal. Dawn only needed to look out the corner of her eye to know who it was.

"Oh hey, Ignis." She said casually, as if seeing him was a total surprise.

Ignis was obviously a little taken aback by how she knew without even looking, but it didn't bother him. She was a hunter, after all.

"Miss Spectrum. I apologize. I had no idea you were out here." No matter the time of day, Ignis was always as classy as possible.

"Please, you don't have to get all formal or anything." Dawn replied with a small huff of frustration.

"Very well."

Ignis then walked over to the table and put something down on it, making a dull clink noise. Dawn turned around to see what it was, her trance in the stars completely broken now.

"Coffee? At this hour?" She said in confusion. " _Humans usually drink coffee in the morning, to wake themselves up..._ " She thought to herself. Ignis responded with his usual matter-of-fact tone while opening the can of his prized drink.

"I sometimes spend time outside with a cup of Ebony if I have trouble sleeping." The can was now fully open, the smell of beans slowly drifting in the cool night air. Dawn gave the quietest of chuckles. If there was one thing this man was passionate about, it was his can of formal living.

Turning back to face the stars, Dawn sat in silence while Ignis worked his magic on the equipment. She heard the sound of slight shuffling, the clink of a mug, the crackle of a flame. Her nose began to swoon as the scent came to her in waves, and her relaxed state was broken yet again. However, just as she was about to get up and go back to her sleeping space, footsteps approached her.

A steaming mug was then lowered into her sight. She looked up at the owner of the hand that offered it to her.

"Um...for me?" Dawn asked with a slight tilt of her head in confusion.

"Yes. I thought you might like one."

"You should have asked if I would."

Hiding a tiny smirk, Ignis replied with a slight playful tone. "I thought you said 'don't get all formal or anything'."

Dawn couldn't help but give a chuckle. This man had played her well. "Thanks." She said.

She accepted the coffee from Ignis, and let the steam flow around her face for a bit. It felt nice combined with the crisp breeze. She noticed that the classy (and smart ass) man had turned to go back into the trailer, but she had spoken up.

"Uh, hey. Why don't you...sit down here with me? Just...for a while?" Dawn facepalmed herself mentally. She sounded like a desperate puppy.

Ignis stopped and turned around to face the redhead. The breeze picked up a little, his spiky brown hair waving, the steam of the coffee being blown away. His glasses were shining in the moonlight.

"If you insist." He said. He walked back over to where Dawn was seated, and lowered himself next to her. Dawn was looking away as much as possible. There was no need to embarrass herself any further. In fact, she didn't even know why she asked that of him in the first place. _Great...another unusual thing to add to the list._

The comforting sound of crickets and flowing grass was the only sound between the two for some time, along with the occasional sip from their mugs. Ignis was first to break the silence.

"If I may, what brings you out here in the middle of the night?" His light green eyes were fixed on the moon instead of her. _Good_.

"I had a hard time sleeping too. Like with your Ebony, I sometimes lay down outside to...stargaze. It...well...relaxes me."

"Is that so? I suppose the stars have quite the impact on you."

Dawn shifted slightly, debating whether or not to explain further. She's never had this kind of conversation before. Not in all the years she has lived.  
Her mouth decided before the mind had any opinions on the matter. "They do...actually." She rested her arms behind her, supporting her weight as she laid back.

"As a kid, I remember being in awe whenever I saw the stars. Always wondering what they were, and why they shone so bright. Like they were...little fireballs or something." A scoff at her younger self escaped her mouth. How stupid she was back then. Noctis' caretaker did nothing as the redhead continued on. "Even though I didn't know what they were exactly, I found comfort in them. Always watching over me...twinkling with a light that seemed to give hope. Of course, I found out what they were later on, but I still held to the belief that the stars were looking out for me. Always shining no matter how dark the night grew. So I...look to them sometimes." Realizing how much she had rambled, her cheeks warmed to a rosy pink. _Good thing it's dark out_...

Ignis didn't look at the rosy woman next to him as his lips met the now nearly empty mug. "That is quite a nice way to look at them."  
"Y-yeah. I mean...no one ever really paid any attention to me, so the stars were kind of my way of..." She stopped. Why was she telling him all this again?

"...Having someone there for you?" Ignis finished for her. She nodded in response. It was completely out of character for someone like Dawn to be telling all of this to another person. One she just met recently especially. Her mind finally caught up to her mouth and made sure it didn't spew any more stupid crap. " _This guy doesn't even know me_..." Her mind scolded.

The team's advisor gently pushed up his glasses in a thoughtful manner. He was trying to respond in the best way possible. Usually his words came easily, but this time his brain's gears were a little stuck. Dawn relieved him of the responsibility after a minute of silence.  
"It's stupid...I was such a pathetic kid back then." She sighed, followed by a light chuckle. "Don't you agree?"

Ignis lowered his warm mug onto his lap. "It is not ridiculous for a child to want companionship, Dawn."

Shivers went up the redhead's spine. He spoke in such a smooth, understanding tone. A tone that wasn't common with the team's advisor.  
Dawn was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She had spoken way too much, and now she was in this awkward position. "Well, where **I** lived, it was." She scoffed. "No one saw you as who you really where. You were seen as how you could contribute. I wasn't beautiful, or smart, or funny."

Light green eyes shifted towards her, the moon reflecting in them. Darker green ones looked back, full of many things: Anger, Confusion, Hurt. Dawn didn't show it at all, but Ignis could see all of it through her eyes. The pain she must have been through...his heart felt an ache. He silently wished that he and his friends were there for her back then. If only they could have been there to give her the companionship she had been lacking all her life...

He had only known her for a few days, but Ignis felt the need to give her what she had been missing.

He then spoke to her in the most meaningful and gentle tone he could manage.

"But you are beautiful to **me**."

Dawn's eyes had shifted from painful to shocked to some sort of...panic? Almost like she had done something very wrong. Fiery eyebrows crinkled, she suddenly stood up. Ignis watched her get up from the rocky ground with confusion.

"Miss Spectrum, I apologize. I did not mean to offend you. Allow me to-"

"Don't. Just... **don't** , okay? I'm gonna...gonna go back to bed." Dawn hurriedly placed her still half-empty mug on the table and walked back to the place she slept, her fire red ponytail flowing behind her retreating form. Noctis' caretaker was still chasing after her, placing his mug on the table as well.

"Dawn, I-"

"Good night, Ignis...see you in the morning." She huffed. Her vibrant red locks had disappeared into the darkness of the tent, and Ignis was left wondering what he had done to completely throw her off. "Yes, um...good night." Was all he managed to whisper to nothing in particular. Feeling a little defeated, Ignis walked back into the creaky trailer, and back to his own bed. The other 3 men he considered brothers were still sound asleep.

And for the first night ever, Ignis never fully finished his cup of Ebony coffee.


	2. Suspisions

**Wow...I wasn't expecting so much love already! I honestly thought people were gonna hate my stuff! Thank you all so much for showing your support, I nearly cried with joy because of how happy I was...I am now motivated to write more and keep my creativity flowing!**

 **I am planning to write Dawn's origin story and how she originally got here, just have to think of how it's all going to fit in. This was really suppose to be random drabble I made up, but now I think this might turn into a full blown story! We'll have to see.**

 **Merry Christmas everyone, and as always, hope you enjoy!**

Since that night, it was a little awkward between Ignis and Dawn. Ignis didn't speak to her alone again, and Dawn tried to preoccupy herself with other tasks to keep from talking to him. No one ever knew that they had even spoken alone at all. However, suspisions were secretley growing bigger and bigger.

Ignis had to outright lie about the extra mug left on the table. He just explained that he was way too tired to focus and ended up getting himself another drink on accident. He felt bad for lying, and knew that it would be better to just say something, but the last thing he wanted to talk about was his relationship with Dawn lest they start teasing him and making the tension worse. Someone like Prompto would **never** let go the fact that he spoke to her alone, shared a mug of his precious Ebony, and even called her beautiful. He could just hear the hoots of laughter and pestering in his head... _ **ugh**_.

When the team's advisor had explained himself about the mug, trying his hardest to keep from kicking himself due to being so careless, it was obvious everyone else didn't quite buy it. Ignis was never one to be 'too tired to focus', and he knew it. Prompto was of course starting to crack jokes about the matter.

"Gee, Iggy! I didn't know you had normal human functions! I wish I could have caught it on camera..." He sighed in disappointment. It would have made the picture of a lifetime.

The accused brunette pushed up his glasses gently, the bright sun casting off a spit second glare. "In case you haven't noticed, I **am** human. However, I would not expect that much from your inferior mind."  
 _"Heeeeyyyy!"_ Shouted Prompto, like a kid who had their toy taken away. Laughter broke out among the group while the blonde gave the advisor a shove, except for one.  
"We should get moving soon." Dawn said in a serious tone after the laughter somewhat died. She stood seperate from the group, arms crossed. "Some of the wildlife might find us here." It was strange to see her like this again after witnessing her softer side. He kept wondering what he could possibly do in order for them to be on aggreable terms again...to be perfectly honest, he wanted to see her like the way he saw her last night. However...he doubted it would ever happen again. What an idiot he was.  
"Well said. Let us get our belongings packed and ready." Ignis responded, if with just a hair of hesitation. He silently hoped no one noticed.

After everything was mostly packed and ready to go, Ignis was lost in thought. For the life of him, he still couldn't figure out why calling the redhead beautiful made her so mad and distant...maybe he was a little too forward? Maybe it was the way he said it...sounding like some guy telling her what she wants to hear, just to get on her good side. Noctis' caretaker felt a little disheartened. He meant every word and was trying his best to make her feel better, yet the result was near catastrophic.

Suddenly, Gladio approached Ignis with a look of accusation.

"Iggy. Got a moment?" The tall, dark haired man said with his gruff voice.  
"Certainly." Ignis had just finished packing his cooking equipment and spices while again, thinking of Dawn.  
Gladio crossed his arms and started leaning on the trailer, making the whole thing tilt a bit. "There's something fishy goin' on here."  
"What ever are you talking about?"  
"Our newest charge, Dawn. She's acting...strange. 'Specially around you."

" _Damn_." Noctis' caretaker cursed in his head. He was hoping the cover story would be enough, but true to his suspisions, The redhead's attitude would give everything away. Good thing he came up with an explaination beforehand. "I suspect she has a lot of things on her mind." He didn't miss a beat. Gladio nodded thoughtfully.  
"Yeah, guess you're right about that. But...why would she be cold around you but no one else?"  
"It is quite the mystery. Dawn seems fickle about many things. Quite possible that all she needs is time."  
The taller man's eyebrows creased in thought. That wasn't a good sign. "You didn't do something to piss her off, did ya, Iggy?"  
The brunette cursed again. He could have sworn Gladio would be satisfied with the answer and just left it alone for the time being.  
"I do not see what I could have possibly done to provoke her. Now we must get going. I saw some beasts nearby." Ignis then started to walk towards the Regalia, only to be stopped by Gladio again.  
"Just talk to her, man." He said in a half serious-half playful tone. "Can't hurt to try." He then gave the advisor a slap on the shoulder as he walked away.

Ignis wasn't sure if Gladio had caught on, or if he was just saying that to fix the problem in general. He was hoping for the latter...

"Hey, Specs! You drivin' or what?" Called the dark haired Prince. He was already in the car, looking ready to fall asleep again. The owner of that nickname didn't even notice that he was just standing there, looking at nothing. He quickly gathered himself and headed towards the drivers seat, hiding an ever-so-slight blush of embarrassment.

" _This is looking to be quite grim_..." Ignis thought with a frown.


	3. Origins: Part One

**First of all, thank you all for the continued support! I had finished this chapter at 4 a.m. so I wouldn't have to keep you guys waiting. Second of all, I want to explain a few things (that probably should have been explained in the first place...woops).**

 **This story is based around my OC Dawn and her experiences in the FF 15 world and its characters (mostly Ignis). This story isn't very heavy in 15's lore and will most likely be missing quite a few details from the game.**

 **I apologize if people were disappointed because there isn't much romance yet. I promise, it's on the way. Heehee.**

 **These next 2 chapters are going to be purely about where Dawn comes from and the events leading up to the present. This first started out as a drabble, so having 'origins' chapters in the middle of the story feels kinda out of place...I apologize for that as well.**

 **Slight swearing, and now some violence. Hope you all enjoy!**

The band of 5 were on their way back to Hammerhead to partake in a hunt. It was fairly silent in the car, except for Prompto's occasional snap of his camera and exclaiming how good of a shot it was. Ignis was driving as he usually does; the Prince was very fond of his naps. However, he was trying his best not to look in the rear-view mirror that gave him a full view of the distant redhead's face. If he did, he would start to lose focus on the road, and most likely make a clumsy mistake. The redhead in question was looking to the side, out into the rocky wilderness. Her mind was mostly blank at the moment, but looking at the towering columns of rock had suddenly triggered her memory of how she got here in the first place.

No one knew yet, but Dawn actually came from another planet. Titania...the lush green planet of the fairies. Well, mostly lush green. There were other parts of the world that other tribes of fairies had lived: Snowy mountains were the Ice fairies, the barren, dark plains were the Lightning fairies, A huge lake where the Water fairies lived, and so on. Dawn was from the Fire Tribe. Always living in constant heat, ash buried in the ground, the sacred volcano towering over them like the ferocious giant that it was. Dawn remembered feeling so small compared to that thing...like it could easily swallow her whole. There were also large rocks surrounding their village like a wall, similar to the ones she saw on this planet.

Dawn lived alone most of her life. Try as she might, she could not remember her parents or any sort of family for that matter. All she had was the house she supposedly grew up in...as well as her own name. The other villagers never spoke to her, but Dawn had survived on the food that they had brought her from time to time.

One villager, an old woman, had come to the doorstep to drop off a basket of veggies on a warm, clear day. The secluded redhead watched as she took careful steps towards the small cottage, and slowly placed the neat basket on the ground. Dawn gathered her courage and stepped outside from her sanctuary to hopefully get some answers for once. No one bothered to give her the answers she seeked...but this time was going to be different.

The old woman had started walking away when she noticed the front door open, a fiery child stepping out of the house. The child looked up at her with those deep green eyes filled with such youth and lonliness.

"Excuse me..." She began with a meek voice. Her fingers began messing with one of the strings on her dress. "But...please...please help me."

The old woman, wide eyed with shock and panic like a deer in headlights, turned around again to leave. Dawn quickly grabbed her sleeve to stop her.

"Don't go! Please! I just need to-"  
"Get away, you bastard child!" The old woman screeched. " **HELP**!" She was too old and frail to summon any fire magic, to her despair.

Suddenly, a group of other villagers had arrived on the scene, fire magic glowing in their hands, a few spears and clubs, ready to be unleashed with no mercy. "Let her go, demon!" One of them yelled loud. Dawn then released the old woman from her grasp in surprise. Bastard child? Demon? She was only trying to ask some questions!

The scared woman had rushed to the others' side. "Are you alright?" One of them asked. She nodded while sweat began to bead on her forhead. "Yes, thankfully. That thing nearly had me!"

Cold tears welled up in Dawn's eyes. She could never understand why the villagers were so scared of her, so reluctant to even speak to her. Never in her life did she ever hurt anyone...phisically or mentally. Her arms involuntarily came closer to her body, a habit if she was afraid and trying to protect herself. The angry villagers sneered at her with distaste. One of them spoke up.

"I knew you were trouble! From the moment Chief Zafirah presented you!" " _What_?" Dawn's mind perked up at the mention of something related to her. " _Presented...me_?"

"Don't say any more! This demon should just be forgotten! Come on guys, lets teach this bastard child a lesson..." One of the other villagers in the group said. The rest of the angry group nodded in agreement, advancing towards the small and helpless redhead, magic and weapons in hand. This was a nightmare come true.

The fear was overwhelming. It was like shackles on her legs, forcing her to stand still. Her heart dropped about 100 feet deep into her stomach, with the impact of a large boulder. She was shaking to her very core. Her mind blacked out a few times during the ordeal, but she remembered the fire, the constant burning, slashing, bruising, spiteful words. The hate could be felt...could be **seen**.

Dawn and the people of the Fire Tribe never exchanged words, but a deep resentment was felt in all. Now, it could be seen as clear as day in physical form on the small, frail redhead.

After the villagers had their fill of violence, they all returned to their homes as if nothing had happened. The sun had reached the horizon, casting off a warm orange glow. The so-called 'demon' was lying in the dirt...trying to summon the strength to lift herself up to the only place that was safe. Trembling hands met with the ashy ground, followed by scraped elbows, then bruised knees. Blood had mixed in with the grey dust to create a wooden brown hue.

Dawn finally made it into the closed off world she called home. Not only was her body crushed, but also her spirit. For years has her inner fire burned; no matter how many times she fell, she would get back up. The wounds would heal and confidence was sure to return to her lonely heart. However, this time...

...this time her spirit was broken, and no one could hear the wails of sorrow in the night wind.

The next morning, Dawn woke up feeling horrible. She fell asleep soon after returning to her home, so all of the blood and tears were completely caked onto her pale skin. Bruises were a lot more intense, and deep aches had riddled her body. It was extremely difficult to even move...

 _Why...? I just don't...understand..._

She ended up in front of the kitchen sink. Cold water drenched her hands and arms.

 _I can't take this anymore...there's...no reason to even be alive...everyone hates me, and I'm completely alone..._

Flakes of dried blood had smeared a little, the streams whirling down the drain.

 _Mom...Dad...anyone..._

Years pass. The wounds have indeed healed, but the heart never fully did. Dawn now left the safety of her small cottage a lot less than usual. The offerings of food were also rare, and consisting of fewer items: a carrot or two, a few leaves of a cabbage, a shriveled up turnip. The occasional trips outside were to try and practice her skills, both with magic and with a variety of weapons. If she was to defend herself against future enemies, she had to toughen up.

The ordeal with the angry villagers had taught the redhead a very important lesson: **Don't be weaker than the other guy**. Her weakness that day proved that she won't go anywhere if she wasn't stronger. Next time those villagers wanted to teach her a lesson, she would be ready...she had to be.

This newfound fire that took forever to light was the will to survive more than anything, and this fire consumed Dawn. Her scars a constant reminder of where she fit in with the world. She now had a new dream: to find answers to her life, wherever they may be found.

And soon they would arrive right in front of her...

 **This chapter was a bit dumb, but I tried my best. ;-; Let me know what you think!**


	4. Origins: Part Two

**Whew...sorry this chapter took forever to publish. I'm at a friend's house currently, and it's hard to focus with others around. I'm trying my best to keep my creativity from deflating like the air mattress I sleep on...it's tough.**

 **Just to make sure there is no confusion, the village that Dawn lives in (along with the entire planet she's on) is inhabited by only fairies.**

 **Again, thanks to all of you who read and follow/fav my story! It means the world to me!**

 **Square Enix owns FFXV and its characters.**

 **Slight swearing.**

The sun had finally reached the end of its journey. A certain fire fairy's time of training had reached the end of its journey, as well. Her muscles had grown somewhat sore from the constant stress she put on them, but that's what made her stronger. It was quite certain that she would be able to take on nearly anyone from the village, even if they had resorted to their fire magic.

The inherited ability was also strengthened; her fire was now strong and concentrated enough to melt nearly anything that was put in front of her. Dawn of course was very proud of this strength. Never again would anyone beat her within an inch of her life so easily like on that horrible day.

However, not only did she get stronger, she also learned some information about this so called 'Chief Zafirah' that one villager had mentioned before wrecking havoc upon her. The villagers were certainly not an option for questioning, so there was only the reliance on stolen books and records; those of which Dawn had swiped from the current Chief's library on the rare occasion that she ventured outside her cottage's borders.

According to various records, Chief Zafirah was indeed the last Chief of the Fire Tribe. In the middle of her rein, she had given birth to a baby girl, and presented her to the Tribe with pride. The people were celebrating and welcoming the newborn miracle...until one fateful day. As tradition with the firstborn of the Chief, the infant is taken to the shaman, who reads the infant's fortune and foretells what kind of ruler and person the infant will grow up to be, which then the Tribe plans accordingly to create as much harmony and prosperity with their future Chief as possible.

When the shaman read Zafirah's newborn, the readings were very grim...to say the least. There was a vision of the girl ruling over the forbidden land...upon the death of someone close to her. She would rule the people with an iron fist...and her homeland would be put behind her forever. There was also the final disturbing image of Titania...burning. All forest and flora turned to ash...and nothing but sorrow and emptiness remaining.

Everyone was shocked to hear the news. The newborn miracle was destined to destroy them, and become the Queen of the land of men. No fairy was even allowed to visit that planet, as humans were destructive and would pose a great threat. In basic terms...the infant was destined to be human. The Tribe began to somewhat divide: some didn't believe the visions, others began to shun the newborn. Zafirah herself, however, believed the vision...and sought to let it happen as foretold.

More time passes, and the villagers have all grown to dislike Zafirah's child, as well as herself for standing by while destruction was to arrive at their doorstep. Zafirah herself had treated her child like any normal mother would: with care. No matter how much the villagers had protested, the Chief had held her ground.  
Then suddenly, one night...the Chief had vanished. There was absolutely nothing left behind...except the child. Many of the Tribe believed that the vision had already begun to take place...that the child had killed her own mother. Specualtions spread around the village, creating an even deeper hole of hatred for the child. One answer began to stick in everyone's minds...the child was possessed with an evil spirit.

How else could a mere child like her defeat the Chief of the Fire Tribe and make her vanish completely? How else could all of Titania end up burning? How else could she rule the land of men?

Dawn wasn't exactly sure of what to make of the stories. She never had the feeling that she was possesed...or that she had murdered someone with her own two hands. It was also strange that the records had no mention of her father whatsoever. She also didn't believe the visions of the shaman...how could she even get to the land of men? There was just no way that it could be true. Destiny wasn't real. There had to have been some reason as to why her mother had disappeared without a trace. Unfourtunatley, that reason was never disovered. Even the name 'Chief Zafirah' was said with so much poison, like the speaker had wanted to spit in her face themselves.

Despite this, Dawn was glad she had finally figured out where she came from and the reason for her own Tribe's hatred.

The redhead was returning to her cottage from her self-built training ground when there was something odd in her view. Some sort of...light? It was small, whispy, and near the small hill that wasn't too far from Dawn's backyard. She set down her bow and quiver to rest on the side of the wodden cottage, and begun to follow the strange light. It wasn't any sort of torch, thats for sure...

The light had begun to move slowly upwards as Dawn walked, up the slope of the hill. Dawn's eyes were fixed on the orb, hands slightly trembling upon the anticipation. If this was an attack (her first real one since that horrible day), she had to be on her guard. As much as she felt ready...there was still a faint pang of fear. A knawing sensation in the back of her mind...the orb had then stopped upon the top of the hill.

Her heart involuntarily dropped into her stomach. As she got closer, the strange orb was casting off a gentle, almost calming, light. What was this thing? How did it get here? As these questions flowed through Dawn's restless mind, the orb of light suddenly began to form into a shape.

A...fairy shape.

Arms and legs morphed from the orb. Followed by a head, and hair. The redhead could only stare in awe at this strange new form of magic she's never seen in her life. It was so odd to see beauty forming out of a little sphere...she could only imagine what kind of technique was required to do this kind of thing.

After coming up with a possible explaination, she could finally see the 'fairy's features. It was a woman with short, flaming red hair...she was tall, and seemed to tower over the other redhead in every way. This woman had to be a fire fairy as well, Dawn could feel it in her soul. It was almost as if her very being was a gigantic flame...threatening to burn away anything that came too close...

The woman opened her eyes to reveal a green so deep that it was like looking into a thick jungle of sorts. Dawn stared into them with curiosity and confusion. These deep green eyes were so much like hers...the hair vivid and exciting like hers...even her very demenor like hers...only more intense.

Who is she?

Suddenly, the woman spoke with a gentle, but at the same time strong, voice.

"Hello, my daughter."

Dawn took a step back. What did she just say? _D-Daughter?!_ "W-What? What did you just call me?" The smaller redhead exclaimed.

The woman then gently brushes Dawn's cheek with her hand in response. "My daughter. I haven't seen you in so long...you have grown a lot."

A smaller hand swatted the other away. No words could truly express what Dawn was feeling at this moment. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Dawn...It's me. You're mother, Zafirah."

"How can you possibly be my mother? She's gone! Left a long time ago and she's never coming back! It's even possible that I...that I-"

"No. While it is true that I had left you long ago, it is not because you took my life, Dawn. I left by my own accord."

Multiple emotions were swirling around in Dawn's heart...going so fast it was impossible to get a hold of just one of them. "That's...that's a lie. She wouldn't just up and leave like that. Look, I don't know who you are, but you better start speaking the truth."

The woman gave a sorrowful sigh. "I suppose words will not convince you..."

In the blink of an eye, the taller redhead jumped back and stood in a defensive pose. Dawn was surprised by the sudden movement. "What are you doing?" She demanded, also performing a defensive pose.

"If words will not make you see, my child, then I will have to show you." The woman's hands began to glow red with fire. Dawn's suspisions were proven true.

However, there was no time to react. The taller redhead was already on her way, flames licking the air as she ran. The ground seemed to quake a little...the tips of the grass turning to ash in a split second. The knawing fear in Dawn's mind was now thrashing. This is serious trouble.

Before Dawn could kick herself for not bringing her weapon, fire met with fire. It was hard enough trying to even dodge the blows. Over and over, searing heat nearly caught onto her hair, threatening to burn her alive.

The smaller redhead might have honed her speed and strength over the years, but nothing prepared her for this.

The woman swings and Dawn again barely managed to duck. Just when an opening was starting to show, her face met with a well prepared flaming fist.

Dawn crashes into the dirt. The nerves in her cheek were pulsating with hot pain as the shock of the blow began to wore off. This was going to leave some sort of mark...

The attacker approached the shaking form, fire now slowly fading. "I am sorry, Dawn...but this is how we of the Fire Tribe know each other. This is how we truly learn of one another."

Dawn spit blood off to the side, shaky arms supporting her. After all of that training and pushing herself to the limits...it wasn't enough. She was still defeated. However, this really did mean something to her just as the woman said. It was almost like she could peer into the womans soul; every swing had her feelings and memories invested, her eyes were filled with determination, her stance proud and professional.

She really was the late Chief...Dawn's mother.

"I see what you mean...mother." The smaller redhead said with defeat. The woman in question gave a small smile, relieved that her child finally saw the truth.

Dawn managed to get back up on her feet and face her long lost family. Well, part of it at least. This was something she never even believed would happen...after all these years...after so long of being alone and in pain...

"Why?" That was all she could manage.

"Why what, my dear?" Zafirah slightly tilted her head.

"Why, after all this time, do you suddenly appear again? I mean...I just...you-"

A slender finger met her parted lips. "Shh...I know you must have a lot of questions my child...but I don't have much time, I'm afraid." Before Dawn could protest, Zafirah continued. "It took quite a lot of energy to even reach you, let alone fight you and do what I am about to do. Listen, Dawn...there is something you must know."

"What's that?"

"The shaman's vision. It will be seen through, one way or another." The smile was well gone now, replaced by a stern line. "If anyone has to put you on the right path, it must be me...and it must be now."

Dawn crossed her arms and scoffed. " **Now**?! What do you mean now?! Years, mother! Years of being alone, being treated like...like a demon, and for what? To wait for my supposed dead mother to come back and tell me what I need to do?! All for some stupid vision?!"

"Please, Dawn. You don't understand..."

"You're damn right I don't understand! How could a mother abandon her child like that?! Tell me why!"

"I just...I did what I-"

"Tell me! Why did I need to suffer?!"

" **ENOUGH**!" Zafirah screamed. A wave of harsh, fiery wind boomed. The sound echoed through the land.

Dawn stood quietly for a moment, looking into her mother's eyes. Years of lost time and misunderstanding surrounding her and Zafirah like some sort of foggy veil. Who knew how many words would be needed to fix this sort of problem...how many hours...days? The scene of finally seeing her mother again played over and over in the depths of the child's mind long ago, yet the script just seemed to fade into the wind. She didn't even know how to act anymore.

Dawn's mother sighed as there was suddenly the noise of villagers exiting their homes. "Damn it...they must have heard me...they can't see me here." She gripped Dawn's shoulders tightly, as if her life depended on it. "I am sorry, my child...I cannot do as you ask. Time is very short, and I need to set you on the right path."

"You can't do this to me again! I'm not gonna follow the dumb vision!"

"It will be seen through! No force that exists can change it! If I am to be the catalyst that brings about Titania's destruction...so is the will of fate."

The smaller redhead pushed away. She wasn't about to do this willingly. "Then...then I'll create a force or whatever! I'm not a puppet to be controlled!"

Other members of the Tribe were approaching the hill, and fast. Zafirah knew full well what she had to do. She cast her arms in front of her, as if to push something. "It must be done. There is no other way..."

"No! You're not gonna-"

"May you find happiness, my daughter."

" **MOM**!"

In an instant, everything turned white. It was like being violently thrown into a raging current. The feeling of great masses passing by at an alarming rate...then, nothing. This nothingness lasted for what seemed like an hour before her senses finally started operating normally again.

White slowly faded away to reveal...dirt? Only...it wasn't the familiar ash-grey dirt...it was different. Nerves in the hand came back to life as it gripped a handful of the foreign ground.

" _W-where am I_?"


	5. Origins: Part Three

**I really wish I didn't take so long to update. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood, or I get busy with something. I promise though, I'm not giving up on this story if it's the last thing I do. I've given up on other stories and ended up regretting it.**

 **Thank you so much for the support! The encouragement you guys give me keeps me motivated and makes me want to try harder. I felt pretty good about this chapter, though there are some things I'm slightly worried about.**

 **I know I said there were gonna be 2 chapters for the Origins, but after finishing part 2, I felt there were still some things missing. This should be the last Origin's chapter though. Let me know how you guys feel about my story so far!**

 **Slight swearing and violence.**

So many things were trying to be processed at the same time. So many different emotions swirling around and around...never resting. Was this some sort of dream? Maybe...some sort of nightmare? Nightmare sounded more fitting.

Vision was finally becoming clearer, revealing the new surroundings before the pair of vivid green eyes.

A sea of strange dirt...jagged rock formations...small shrubs everywhere...this was definitely not the village.

Dawn gave a sickening groan. Her stomach did around 30 flips after the ordeal she just went through. Meeting her mother, finding out she only came to fulfill the vision, not get any questions answered, then only to black out and end up here. Anger began to stick out amongst the other emotions; foreign dirt started to spill out from between her slender fingers. Dawn hadn't even realized that she was gripping the ground so hard out of rage.

Relaxing her grip, the redhead began thinking of what exactly just happened. " _Ok...gotta remember...she said it took a lot of energy to even find me...and it would take even more to do something else...then...she did some sort of pose and I ended up here_." She closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the feeling of being thrown a million miles away in the span of a millisecond. " _Wait a minute..."_

" _No...could it be she...made me_ _ **teleport**_?" Zafirah did indeed have a lot of power and experience, but **teleporting** someone? It was unheard of.

Dawn slowly got up to her feet. The air was warm and dry...a lot like back home. There were big wooden poles in a line, some were even broken. " _Whatever the case...I have to find out where I am.._."

Something else suddenly hit her: the sun was high up in the sky. When she was done with training, it was just about nighttime, meaning one thing.

She was very far from home.

As panic began to rise, groggy legs carried the redhead away. If only there was something that could tell her where she was...anything. A sign, a building, a-

 _"What the heck is that?!"_

Her attention was fully caught by some sort of creature in the distance. No, multiple creatures...maybe 5 of them. They were incredibly skinny, and donned a pair of...tusks? She wasn't sure of what to make of these things at all. Hopefully they wouldn't notice her...

Dawn started walking in the opposite direction when a growl filled the air, followed by more growls. A bead of sweat accumulated on her forehead. " _Damn it._ _This is bad..."_

The growls continue as something suddenly comes into view in the distance. It was square-ish in shape, and looked to be a midnight black color. The sun was reflecting off of it as if it were a mirror. To Dawn's horror and curiosity, it was approaching her at an alarming speed. " _Looks like I'm cornered...might as well try and take out the smaller guys first...less to worry about_."

The redhead turned around once more to face the sorce of the growling. The skinny creatures were already eyeing her, waiting for an opportunity to strike at their next supper. Drool began to droop down to the ground from their mouths. Dawn took a defensive pose.

The first one charges quickly. However, Dawn was quicker as the beast was stopped short by a hearty kick to the stomach. As the beast hit the ground with a thud, another one moved in. The tusks slammed into Dawn's right arm. Dull pain enveloped her skin.

Besides the growling and whining coming from the beasts, a new sound reached her ears. It was strange...it was like some sort of dull roar, getting louder as it drew closer. She had to finish this quickly...

Ignoring the pain, Dawn heaved the beast off of her arm. She then followed up with 180 degree sweep of the ground with her leg. Clouds of dust rose up into the air as the 4 charging beasts tripped and fell. However, despite the victory, she had forgotten about the first beast...and never suspected it when it came running at her.

Tusks grinded into her pale skin. The sheer force and weight of the beast had won, knocking the redhead down to the ground.

The dull roar behind her then stopped, followed by a slamming sound and...voices?

"We gotta help her! She's gonna get eaten!" The voice was male, high pitched, young. This wasn't some sort of other monster. It was a person.

Dawn let out an agonizing cry as the beasts claws gripped and swiped. Droplets of blood flew into the air. " _Is this the end._..?"

Just as it felt like her conciousness would be lost again, the beast was then violently thrown off of her by some sort of force, a loud bang echoing through the sky. The skinny creature's body went limp. It was dead.

"Someone help her!" Another male, but much more gruff voice yelled. Footsteps hurriedly approached the unmoving Dawn.

Vision getting blurry once again, she could only make out a few details of the thing that just knelt down next to her. It certainly looked like a fairy...with two eyes, a nose, a mouth, a head of hair...and glasses. Only...it was different somehow.

The 'other fairy' leaned in close and just sat there for a few seconds. "She's still alive! I'm going to try and give her medical aid!" It suddenly yelled back at it's comrades. It sounded like the rest of the group were busy battling the creatures off.

Before she knew it, Dawn felt something being pressed into her hand...something round. "Here. This should help until we get you somewhere safe." "Uugh..." She squeezed whatever was in her hand, relief washing over her in mere seconds. She bolted upright as her strength returned.

The facial features of the 'other fairy' could now be clearly seen. He was indeed male as suspected, with brunette hair that spiked in the front, bright eyes, and glasses. His expression was a little blank, but it showed signs of relief.

"W-who are you?" Dawn said with conviction.

However, before he could answer, the others that were with him came back. The beasts were all dead.

"Whew! Glad to see you're okay!" It was the first voice she heard. He was slightly smaller than the others, with vibrant blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Yeah. I'm glad we made it just in time." The tallest one with a scar over his eye said. She recognized him as the second voice.

The last one didn't say anything at all. He had black hair and blue eyes, and looked just about ready to go to bed. For some reason, this annoyed Dawn. "Well, um...I suppose I should thank you. But...who are you guys?" She said. "What tribe are you from?"

The young group began to look at her with confusion and shift uncomfortably. "Uhm...what are you talking about?" The blonde one said. "We're not from any sort of tribe or anything." Dawn's eyebrows crinkled. " _This is very bad_..."

"How can you **not** be in a tribe? **Everyone** is born into one." Again, the group shifts. " _This is getting nowhere."_ "Ok...can you at least tell me your names and what you specialize in?" She finished in a slight huff of frustration.

The boys were a little weirded out by the 'specialize' question but answered anyway. The blonde stepped forward first. "I'm Prompto! And uh...I guess I'm pretty good with guns. Hiya!" He finished with a quick wave of the hand, blonde hair also waving with the movement. Next was the tallest one with the scar.

"Gladiolus. I'm handy when it comes to swords." He stuck a thumb at himself in pride. "There's no one better." Then it was the brunette who treated her that went next.

"It's Ignis." He said as a gloved hand pushed up his glasses slightly. "My weapon of choice would be daggers...and possibly smaller swords." After he finished, Dawn expected the last boy to introduce himself, but he said nothing. Everyone sat in silence for a few moments until Ignis finally spoke up. "This would be Prince Noctis of Insomnia. I suppose he specializes in just about anything." As if to wake him up, he gave the one called Noctis a little elbow shove.

"Huh? Oh. Hey." He nodded his head slightly. " _This guy must be a joy to have around...but...I've never heard of a tribe specializing in weapons..."_

Mostly satisfied with the answers, Dawn got up to her feet, only to be regretting that she did. The beast's claws had dug into her clothes earlier; fabric and string hung loosely in many places, and some skin was shown. Her cheeks flared up in the sudden embarrassment. "Listen...um...where am I exactly?" She said trying to take the attention off of her ruined clothing.

"Well, we're actually on our way to Hammerhead. It should be close." Prompto responded after a second. " _Hammerhead? I've never heard of it at all._.."

"Yes, and it would be wise to get you to someplace safe. That potion won't last forever." Ignis chimed in. "We can get you to Hammerhead and give you the proper attention." Now it was Dawn who shifted umcomfortably. "No, that's not necessary. I feel fine." "You may feel fine now, but the effects of that potion won't last long. Those cuts are deep." Her arms rose up to try and cover them so no one would look. "I said I'm **fine**! You guys can just-"

Suddenly, a wave of pain washed over her body. The gashes pulsated and started to bleed; she was crippled to the ground. Prompto rushed to her side in concern.

"Woah! See? You're not fine! Comon', let us take you to Hammerhead! **Please**?" He said. Dawn sighed. She didn't have much of a choice.

"Tch...fine. I'll go." She responded reluctantly. Prompto, grinning in victory, swung her arm over him to help her up. Gladiolus also helped, easily carrying her weight along back to the square-ish shape thing that she had seen earlier, Ignis and Noctis following suit. She had never seen anything like this. It opened on the sides, and had cushions on the inside, complete with wheels on the bottom. This reminded her of some sort of wheelbarrow, only it moved people, not crops.

The group were well on their way to their destination when Prompto spoke up. "So, what's your name? You never told us back there."

Dawn thought for a minute. " _I suppose it wouldn't hurt if they knew my name...they saved me after all_." "It's Dawn. Dawn Spectrum."

"Nice to meet ya. Though, I wish it were under better circumstances." Gladiolus said with sincerity, looking at her. She could only nod in response.

"Likewise. However, I am curious as to why you asked what we specialized in." Ignis said. "Are you perhaps a Hunter?"

" _If they don't associate with a tribe, it could mean trouble if I say where I'm from...might as well go along with it_." "Yes, I am." She said.

"Ah, that would explain it. Hmm...now that I think about it...where is your dog tag? All Hunters usually have one."

"I, uh...well..."

Prompto spoke before Dawn could come up with something, to her relief. "Aw, comon' Iggy! Let's just get her to Hammerhead. No need to play 20 questions!"

'Iggy' said nothing in return, only tightening his grip on the wheel in front of him.

A few minutes pass in silence, and they finally arrived someplace new. There were two buildings: one was covered in glass, and the other had one big metal door in the front. " _What the heck are these places for_?"

Suddenly, everyone exited the strange contraption. After Gladiolus exited from her left side, Ignis approached her. "Theres a place that I can treat your wounds over there. We should hurry before the pain gets any worse." "O-okay." said Dawn. She followed Ignis to the place he mentioned with slow and painful steps. The blood had soaked her ripped clothing, making red streaks across the fabric. She thanked what little luck she had that there weren't any other people around to see the disaster that was her appearance. The duo arrived at what looked like a house, only made of metal instead of wood.

"What is this?" Asked Dawn. The brunette gave her somewhat of a strange look upon hearing her question.

"It's a trailer. Haven't you ever seen one?"

"Well...no..."

He shook his head and sighed, remembering why they were here in the first place. "Doesn't matter now. Let's get you fixed up."

They both entered the trailer. It smelled musky and the air felt damp. In her mind, Dawn wondered when the last time this place was cleaned...probably a while. She sat down with a thud; it's been a really long day, and the pain was starting to return with a vengeance.

Ignis was looking through the cabinets and shelves for a first aid kit. "I'm going to have to clean the wounds to prevent them from getting infected. Please remove your shirt."

Immediately, red flags started popping up. The redhead's cheeks began to turn the color of her hair. "Uh, no thanks, pervert. I'll just treat myself if you don't mind." The 'pervert' eventually found what he was looking for, and stood up, facing the redhead.

"Please. The wounds need to be treated properly. It must be done by another person."

"How do **I** know you're not just taking advantage of that to sneak a peek?"

"I ask you to trust me. I know you must be experienced as well, but if the wound is not cleaned as it should be, terrible things could happen."

She sighed. Ignis was right, and she knew it. There was no way it could be done on her own. "Alright...if you say so."

It hurt to even move now, but she managed to get the shirt off completely. The fabric stuck to her wounds like glue.

"How are you feeling?" The brunette asked, returning to her with the kit. He didn't seem affected at all by the now shirtless woman before him.

"More and more horrible by the second." She responded with a groan. "Be quick, alright?"

"I will do my best."

Ignis proceeded and grabbed a rag and some gauze to clean up the blood. Even though the rag was rough on her skin, he was gentle, making the experience as painless as he possibly could. There was a lot of blood...leaving a big stench of copper in the musky air. " _He really does know what he's doing._.." Thought Dawn as he swiftly did his work. Thankfully, the heat of embarrassment was fading away as she realized he wasn't staring or anything of the sort.

Speaking of staring, the redhead took this opportunity to study his face further. It certainly had a little bit of age...but it was still so young. His hair and eyebrows were very well groomed, and his eyes...they were so sharp and focused. Almost as if he held all the wisdom in the world behind them...

After most of the blood had been cleaned up, Ignis tossed the bloody rags and looked at Dawn. Realizing that she was caught staring, she quickly tried to hide her guilt. "I'm now going to use this to stop any infections. I won't lie: this will hurt." She looked at the bottle of liquid he was holding with confusion (and relief that he didn't say anything about the staring)...it didn't seem like anything familiar. "Don't worry, I'm quite experienced when it comes to that."

The brunette nodded and poured some of the liquid on the fresh gauze. "Please try and be as still as you can." He said.

Then came the sensation of a knife being stabbed into her open wounds. Her knuckles turned white as her hands gripped the seat hard. " **AAUGH**! What the **hell**?!" She yelled.

"That means it's working. Bear with me." Ignis responded in a somewhat comforting tone.

His hand continued to dab the gauze around, each time Dawn scrunching up in pain. After what seemed like an hour, he stopped. "There. That should do the trick. You're going to need some sort of bandage to help with the healing."

"Okay...do whatever you have to." The redhead looked off to the side. Her nerves shot to life as she felt worn skin meeting with smooth briefly multiple times. No one has ever been this close to her before...except her mother.

Memories of a woman putting a bandage on her arm began to surface...memories like these were few and not very clear, but they were stuck in her mind. They kept her going sometimes when the going was tough; she'd look up at the sky at night and know that somewhere, she had a family. That one day, she wouldn't be alone anymore. Now...remembering these things only brought rage.

"Miss Spectrum? Can you hear me?" A voice suddenly interuppted her thoughts. Ignis was staring at her.

"Huh? Oh, you're done?" Dawn said, as if coming back from a dream.

"Yes. You should heal in due time, given that you don't mess with the bandages."

"Thanks. I feel a lot better." It was odd...she felt comfortable despite being so vulnerable. After seeing that he wasn't trying to peek at her, hearing his calming voice, and not being in intense pain anymore because of him made all of this feel almost natural.

Ignis then threw somthing her way. A shirt. " _Thank goodness_."

"I made sure to grab this. I know it doesn't seem ideal, but..." He pushed up his glasses again. Must be some sort of habit.

Dawn chuckled at this. "No, it's fine. And um...sorry for calling you a pervert." The last part was a little quicker and quieter.

"That's quite alright. I'm sure any situation like the one I put you in would cause discomfort."

The shirt was breathable and a lot more comfortable than it looked. The redhead happily wore it now that she wasn't caked in blood. " _Whew...much better._ "

"So, Miss Spectrum...what exactly were you doing out in the wilderness? Hunting big game, I assume?" The brunette asked. " _Shit...what am I suppose to say? 'Well my long lost mother came up and teleported me here out of some vision'_?"

"You see...I **was** hunting some game. I was in the middle of tracking it when it got away...then those creatures caught me off guard."

"Hmm. Your friends must be worried about you after not returning for so long."

"Actually, it was...expected for me to be gone for a while. This game is...very elusive. And likes to run away." _Please buy it_.

"Interesting. Do you plan on continuing your hunt?" Dawn gave an internal sigh of relief.

"I suppose so. I wouldn't want to go back empty-handed."

Ignis nodded in understanding and stood in front of the redhead. "Miss Spectrum, would you like to join us for the time being? Your bandages will need changing every once in a while, and I believe you will have better luck finding your target."

Now there was a thought: join the group that just pretty much saved her life? It would be a lot safer if she travelled with them...and they really didn't seem all that much of a threat to her either. However, what if they are really her enemies in disguise? Only **acting** friendly towards her to gain her trust? In honesty, she didn't want to take that risk.

"I'll...think about it." She responded. In that moment, the door to the trailer swung open.

"Hey! You feelin' any better?" Prompto's loud voice broke the calming atmosphere. Gladiolus and even Noctis followed in with him, checking to see how she was.

"Yeah. My wounds are all treated and everything. Nothing to worry about." Dawn said with slight surprise. Prompto flashed a huge grin.

"That's great! We were all worried, ya know?"

"You were?"

"Of course! I even remember ol' Noct here saying something like: 'Ohh, I wonder if that girl will be okay'!" He said in a strange impression of the Prince. The Prince in question gave the blonde a small shove, sending him crashing against the shelves. The whole group, even Noctis, started laughing. It was lighthearted laughter...laughter filled with joy. Hearing it made something in Dawn stir. " _Maybe...this could be a good experience for me..._ "

After the laughter had died, and Prompto recovered from his collision, all eyes were on Dawn again. "What's your plan now, trooper?" Gladiolus said, leaning on the wall of the trailer.

Before anything could come out of her mouth, Prompto jolted to life, blonde hair going crazy. "Oh! **OH**! Please tell me you're comin' with us! I mean, we could help you with your hunt and stuff!"

Those blue eyes had so much hope in them...she could tell just from looking at them that he really wanted her along. The emotion that overwhelmed Dawn was a new one. For so long, she had only known lonliness. Never once had anyone asked her to be with them like this...wanting to know her better and how she felt. This emotion was finally what sold her.

"Well...I guess there's no harm in it." She said, trying her best to hide a smile. Prompto nearly jumped out of the ceiling.

" **Whoo-hoo**! This is gonna be fun!" He said with excitement.

For the next few days, Dawn learned a lot about her newfound companions and the place she was now in: Eos. She learned about cars, stores, humans, and deamons, along with what was happening with the war...all in secret. She also found out the shocking fact that she wasn't in another land, she was in another planet altogether. In truth, she hadn't felt this happy in quite a long time. No longer was she seen as some sort of evil spirit. She was a **person**.

 **Sorry if there were any grammatical errors. All of the Italics are thoughts in case that was confusing to anyone. Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. A Feeling Deep Inside

**So it would seem that my update time will be about once a week. I wish it could be sooner, but that's the amount of time I need. The story has a base structure in my head, but it takes a while to work out the details.**

 **Sorry if there are some FF facts or details that I might have gotten wrong; again, I've only seen a playthrough of the game, and I've never watched the movie (have seen the anime though, super awesome).**

 **Big thank you to all who read and support my story! You keep my creativity alive!**

 **Swearing, and violence. Enjoy!**

Not even realizing she had fallen asleep, Dawn was woken up by a large hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently.

"Dawn? Hey, wake up. We're here." It was Gladio. Apparently they had just arrived at the place where they would find the nasty beasts.

"Uggh?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes; last night took a toll on her sleep schedule...

Prompto's voice rang in her ears. "Oh yeah...time to kick some butt! I'll make sure to get some sweet shots."

As everyone exited the Regalia, a warm breeze picked up. Dust and tumbleweed skirted across the sandy landscape. Dawn wondered to herself how the beasts could possibly stand this kind of enviornment...there's no water, barely any shade, and not really any place to take shelter. " _This world sure is strange._.." She thought.

The targeted beasts were once again those skinny things with the tusks. There were more than last time: probably around 7 of them, all huddled in a group. Where they were going and what exactly they were doing, no one knew for sure.

It was time for some payback all right.

Dawn and the gang readied their weapons. Since Dawn couldn't let anyone know that she was a fairy, her fire magic was out of the picture. Instead, her training was spent with a sword she had found while exploring. A sword that was similar to the Prince's, but a little bigger. She wasn't quite used to it yet, but she could certainly do some damage with it.

Noctis's voice broke her thoughts. "So, any plans, Ignis?" His voice was a little more serious than usual, but still had a smug undertone. Ignis responded with the flash of his handy daggers.

"Keep on your toes. These beasts are quick and will not hesistate to pin you down. Remember when we found Miss Spectrum?"

Upon hearing this, Dawn gave him a quick glare. His eyes met with hers for a brief moment, and his face already started to droop in immediate regret. Thankfully, no one pursuited the subject further, saving Dawn even more embarassment.

"Got it." Was all the dark-haired Prince said. He and Gladio took to the front, while Ignis, Dawn, and Prompto hung in the back; their footsteps crunching on the sand and rocks.

The beasts, one by one, started noticing the approaching threat. Quiet growls filled the air, skinny heads lifted up from the ground.

When it looked like they were ready to charge, Noctis performed a devestating warp-strike on the closest beast. It howled in pain as it was knocked to the ground. Gladiolus was second to respond; his gigantic greatsword slamming into another beast.

Dawn charged into the fray; her sword meeting flesh as two of them charged at her. The tusks kind of got in the way, but the sound of whining told her that the attack was a success.

Ignis and Prompto were working together: The blonde got the attention of the beasts with his firearm while the brunette swung in while they were off guard. However, there was one problem: The brunette wasn't completely focused. The glare he recieved from Dawn stuck out in his mind...haunting him. Her green eyes seared a hole into him. Ignis was doing his absolute best to keep his mind on the battle, but there were times where those green eyes flashed in his mind again...

"Iggy! Watch out!" Prompto yelled, followed by another ' _pow_ ' of his gun. Ignis turned around after slashing the beast in front of him. The creature behind him was already sqirming on the ground, a gunshot wound in it's side.

A faint blush of embarrassment creeped into the brunette's cheeks. He let his guard down. "Excellent work!" He yelled back at the blonde.

Ignis didn't even wait for a response as he charged at the beast he previously attacked, finishing it off with a hearty slash of his dagger.

Dawn hacked and slashed at the approaching creatures with everything she had. Every swing seemed to cut the very air in two, followed by a huge ' _swoosh_ ' of her blade. She wasn't doing this because she wanted to show off, or even finish the battle quickly...she was doing this because she was angry. Angry at Ignis. Not only did he make things awkward last night, he also had to go and remind everyone of how she got pinned to the ground like a weakling the first day they had met.

" _I'll show him.._." She fumed. " _I trust him with treating my wounds while my damn shirts off, and he does this? Bastard_..." Another ' _swoosh_ ' of the blade, and another creature was down for the count, feeling the full force of her wrath. For a split second, she could have sworn Ignis was looking at her.

Noctis was the last one to finish. His sword cut the beast down in one final swoop, it's body going limp in an instant. He gave a long sigh as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Man, I'm exausted. Glad it's finally over with." No one else openly complained, but it was obvious that they were worn as well. Dirt and scratches covered their clothes, hair matted and messy, sweat easily seen.

"Guess it's time for some camping out." Said Gladiolus as he hopelessly tried to pat the dirt off of his pants. "There's a haven nearby."

"Aw man...was really hoping for a bed this time. Oh well..." Prompto chimed in with a disappointed sigh. He then turned to Dawn. "How are ya' holdin' up, Dawn?"

A little surprised by the question, the redhead turned to him. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Comon', let's get to the haven already." With that, she turned around and started walking towards the haven in a brisk pace.

The blonde's face dropped a little. "Y-yeah. Let's go..."

The others follwed her to the haven, each one feeling something different about the situation.

Later that night, Dawn sat outside again. Her anger died down somewhat, but she still needed time alone. At least, away from Ignis.

Green eyes fixated on the stars twinkling above, long red hair moving with the breeze. She took a deep breath of the open air; thoughts returned to the night before.

"... _you are beautiful to me_."

As if on cue, she heard the tent flap open followed by feet hitting the ground. " _Great...just what I needed_." Thought Dawn with a sigh.

"Dawn? Sorry to bother you, but-"

"Go away, Ignis."

The brunette froze in his tracks. He felt hurt by the sudden rejection, but he was determined to speak his mind. "Can't I talk to you? Just for a minute?"

"No. There's nothing to talk about." She could feel her anger rising again, like someone turning up the heat on a stove.

"Of course there is. I know you're upset with me, and I at least deserve a chance to explain."

The redhead responded with an annoyed tone. "I don't see why, but go ahead."

Ignis approached next to her, sat down on the craggy rock, and looked into her eyes. "Listen, I know what I said last night and this afternoon upset you, but I want you to know that I have no ill intentions."

Dawn rolled her eyes in response. "Sure you don't. Like when you mocked me in front of everyone back there? No 'ill intentions' whatsoever."

"I didn't mean to mock you. I was only saying that to warn the others of the Sabertusks' potential threat...but..." He paused, recalling the glare he recieved hours ago. "I should not have said it. It was a rude thing to say, and I didn't think when speaking. I am sorry."

"You are, huh?"

"Yes, I am. Please believe me."

She then turned to look back at him. His face showed concern and worry. "Well...okay. I believe you." Seeing this face just had some effect on her: it was pretty clear that he really was sorry and wanted to be forgiven, as well as he didn't mean to upset her in any way. The anger was finally fading as he spoke again, brunette hair swaying in the wind.

"Thank you. I was worried that you would stay mad at me." He broke eye contact and instead faced the bright moon. Dawn copied him, her legs dangling over the rocky slope. Her mind ran over what just happened.

All he had to do was look at her with that face, and her anger that she thought couldn't be eased just...ceased to be. She couldn't understand for the life of her why she was so soft like this...Prompto had some sort of look on his face also, she remembered, and that time was no different: she just could not say no. " _Is this...some type of weakness_?" the redhead thought to herself. " _Is this thing gonna end up controlling me_?"

Ignis spoke up after a minute, interrupting her thoughts. "There's also the...incident last night." He spoke as if he were trying to cross a minefield.

Dawn's hands began to mess with the edge of her shirt. "...What about it?" She said.

"You left so quickly after I...called you beautiful." The moon reflected off of his glasses as he again pushed them up in habit. "It obviously upset you."

She didn't really know what to say. The answer in itself was somewhat complicated in truth, her response to last night was more of an involuntary one. "Ignis...I..."

The pause brought his eyes back to her. "Yes?" He said.

"It's...hard to explain, but since you explained yourself, I suppose it's fair that I would too. You see...remember when we first met, when you treated my wounds?"

"Of course I do."

"Well...back then, I trusted you in the sense that you wouldn't...ya' know...peek or something." Her pale cheeks began to turn pink. "Then when you said what you did last night, it was like...I thought you were saying it based off of what you saw that day. Like, you actually peeked at me."

Now his cheeks were also turning pink, eyes growing wide. "Oh! No, absolutely not! I promise, that isn't why I said that."

Dawn nodded. "That's good...but also, it...surprised me, ya' know? All my life, I don't remember anyone ever calling me beautiful. So when you said it to me, it startled me a little."

"Why would it startle you?"

It was happening again; her mouth was faster than her mind, and she ended up saying things that weren't even fully processed yet. "I don't want you to think that I'm something I'm not. I'm not beautiful, Ignis."

His eyebrows crinkled slightly, lips tilted downward into a small frown. "Dawn...you **are** beautiful. It doesn't make sense that you don't want me to believe that you are."

"Then tell me: if I really am beautiful as you say, why has everyone always told me otherwise? If I really **was** beautiful, they would treat me as such. I would have been told long ago...but it never happened."

Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her skin jolted to life, her body startled by the contact, but she gave no resistance.

"Beauty is not determined what the majority believes, Dawn. Everyone is beautiful, no matter what multiple people might believe. The people you mentioned: they are all blind. Their hearts and minds are closed off. However, just because they don't see you as beautiful doesn't mean you aren't."

His tone of voice was so calm and gentle, just like last night...just like that moment in the trailer, taking care of her. She wanted to hear it over and over again; it made her feel like everything was alright...like nothing in the world was wrong. He truly sees her as **beautiful** , and that made Dawn feel something...something amazing.

"Thank you...Ignis." She said quietly. Part of her mind scolded her again for speaking to him about that kind of stuff, but she ignored it. This moment was something she wanted to cherish.

"My pleasure." After realizing his hand was on her shoulder for a little too long, he quickly retracted it with a cough. "So...are we on agreeable terms again?"

Dawn gave a small chuckle at his usual fancy word choice. "Yeah, we're cool."

"What a relief. I say we should head to bed now, wouldn't you say?" He rose from his spot next to her, ready to crash for the night. The redhead followed suit.

"Sure. I am pretty tired." The duo returned to their respective tents: Ignis slept with the others while Dawn got the extra tent to herself. They exchanged one last look at each other before disappearing into shelter.

"Good night, Miss Spectrum."

Dawn quietly scoffed at his habit of being so formal, even over her damn name. "Night, Iggy." She responded. The redhead concluded that if he got to call her by her last name like that, she was allowed to use his casual nickname like the others did. Seemed fair.

She didn't know if she was that tired or what, but as the brunette slipped into the tent, she could have sworn he was smiling.

Tonight was a good night, only...there was one thing Dawn never told Ignis. Part of the reason that she pushed him away like she did was because of...

 _The vision_.

She still wasn't quite convinced that the vision was real, but...what if it **was**? Back then, she never believed she would ever end up in the land of men, and yet...here she was. Her feelings about her home also lined up with what was seen...she turned her back on Titania. All she ever found there was pain and a constant struggle to find a reason to be alive...why she should keep breathing...so why should she care what happens to it?

Dawn didn't want to be a puppet to fate however; she wanted to choose her own path...one that some old guy didn't have a say in, or her mother, or...anyone for that matter. All she wanted to do was find happiness in her life. All she wanted was...friends...a family. Of course, you couldn't tell this just by looking at her, but this was how she felt deep inside. If Titania were to burn, she wanted it to be her choice and her choice alone.

If Ignis was the one to get close to her, it would mean trouble...for the both of them. Not only does Dawn not want the vision to be fulfilled (if it really were true), but she also didn't want him to die...

Panic rose in the redhead's heart as she layed in her sleeping bag. Tonight proved that they were getting closer...and that means she was getting closer to the vision.

She was getting closer to killing him.

 **Oh boy, things are getting a little intense. Let me know what you think!**


	7. At The Beachfront

**Since I've been getting so much encouragement, I decided to push myself and write another chapter! It might be a little small, but I think it's pretty good.**

 **Thank you to all of you who read my story and give me encouragement to keep writing! I've been really nervous about how people would react to my story, and it's turned out waaaay better than anticipated. This is an amazing experience for me.**

 **As always, hope you enjoy!**

 **Slight swearing.**

Sleeping was somewhat difficult, but the redhead finally managed to emerge victorious. She woke up to the sound of shuffling feet and clinking, light shining through the tent flap.

" _Huh...I must have slept in a little_..." She thought to herself. Groggy hands once again put her long flaming hair into the usual high ponytail, ready for the day.

As she exited the dark tent, all of the boys looked her direction: Noct and Gladio were sitting at the table while Prompto was handing out plates, Ignis at the stove, cooking something.

"Well, look who's up." Said Gladio. Dawn couldn't believe she woke up last out of all of them, even freaking Noctis of all people, the one most known for hating mornings.

"Oh! Um, hey Dawn!" Prompto greeted while setting down Noctis's plate in front of him with a hard ' _clink_ ', waving.

"I guess now you can get off my back, Specs." Noctis said in a playful tone. "Sleeping Beauty here likes her sleep more than I do."

The redhead only saw the dark-haired Prince joke around a few times, but never directly at her. It was almost like he didn't even know she was there most of the time, but now it seemed like he was getting a little more used to her company.

However, despite the lighthearted joking that he did, everyone seemed to freeze for a minute. They all knew that Dawn was one to sometimes get mad quickly...and the Prince's joke towards her could have just sealed his fate.

Dawn laughed and punched Noct's arm playfully. "Shut up, lazy-ass. **You're** the one who constantly whines about having to camp."

The boys visably relaxed upon knowing that Dawn wasn't going to turn the Prince into pulp. "She's got you there, Noct." Ignis chimed in from the stove without even turning around.

Prompto made a sizzling sound. "Ouch...that burn must have hurt!"

"Buzz off." Noctis replied with a grin.

The side where Gladio and Noct were sitting looked full, so Dawn ended up sitting next to Prompto. Upon seeing this, the blonde seemed to perk up a bit.

"So...Dawn?" Said Prompto as he turned to her.

"Yeah?"

"This monster that you're hunting...are we getting close to it?"

It was her turn to freeze. She was so focused on Ignis and the vision that she forgot to keep up with her cover. Her mind raced to come up with something, and fast...because now both of the boys across from her were looking her way, waiting for an answer. "I...believe so, yes. It hangs out around areas like this...only...it's pretty hard to find."

"Oh...and once we find it, you're gonna kill it and take it back to the other Hunters?"

Without realizing it, Dawn's face dropped slightly. "Yes...I am, Prompto."

She might not have realized it, but Gladiolus did. "Something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head quickly, fiery red locks brushing her face. "Uh, no. Nothing's wrong. Just...still sluggish." She silently hoped that would be the end of that.

The tall man studied her face for a moment. Thankfully, he wasn't around her long enough to tell whether she was lying or not. "If you say so." He responded, seemingly satisfied.

A few long minutes passed until it was time for breakfast. Dawn's nose was proven correct as the dish was placed in front of her. Finally, a dish she recognized.

"It's nothing special. Just some eggs we came across." Said Ignis as he took his seat next to Dawn.

"Aw, don't say that Iggy. **Anything** you cook is special!" Prompto replied, happily drowning in the wonderful aroma.

"You flatter me."

Everyone dug into their share, engrossed in the perfection that is Ignis's cooking. Dawn wondered to herself how exactly he was so good at it. She herself was somewhat decent at it, but she had to be extremely focused and careful; all the while the brunette does it all without even second guessing.

The gang was going through their last bites when Dawn spoke up. "Where are we headed next?"

"Galdin Quay. I've heard that the seafood there is positively divine." Ignis replied, obviously looking forward to the food more than anything.

"Don't think we're gonna find Dawn's target there." said Gladio thoughtfully. "She said it only hangs out around here."

The redhead in question looked up to face the tall man. "Well, no. I said it hangs out in **areas** like this..." She said.

"You think it'll be found near Galdin?"

"It's a possibility...like I said, this thing is hard to find."

Ignis finished first, standing up. "Hopefully we'll find the beast. Best not to keep your group waiting too long." He said.

"Right..." Replied Dawn with the ' _clink_ ' of her fork hitting the plate. How long could she keep this up? How long until the truth came out? If at all? These men have showed her kindness like she's never experienced before, and seem to trust her. A feeling of guilt started to rise in her stomach...

With the plates cleaned, the tents folded up, and the equipment packed, the gang was ready to head off to Galdin Quay, the relaxing beach resort. Dawn had never even seen a beach before, let alone been to one. She was actually excited to visit there and see the big body of water herself.

The sun was now fairly high up in the sky as the gang packed into the shiny Regalia. The cars were still so new and strange to the redhead, but the more time she spent in one, the more used to it she felt; hearing the roar of the engine was now an expected sound and not one that made her jump. In fact, Eos was beginning to feel more and more like a place she wanted to be in...humans really weren't as bad as the books in Titania claimed them to be. They saved her life, supported her, and even complimented her.

As the wind made the redhead's ponytail flail around, she thought about her current options. If things continue like this, the vision will come true...and Ignis will...

" _I can't let it happen_..." Thought the panicking Dawn. " _I mean, I like being around Ignis and his friends, but...leaving might be my only choice...I've already pushed Ignis away from me and look what happened instead_..." The more she thought about leaving for good, the more her emotions stirred...but she also realized that the more time she spent with them, the more that leaving would hurt. Right now, they didn't seem to mind when mentioning her 'returning' to her 'group', so now might be the best time to just...go.

They had finally arrived to their destination: Galdin Quay. Dawn was almost in a trance when she layed eyes on it: The sparkling water, the smooth sand, the calming trees. No wonder humans flocked to places like this.

"Whoo baby! Smell that air!" Prompto said excitedly as he took a huge whiff.

Noctis followed suit, but not as excited. "Heard this place is **amazing** at night." He said, taking in the sorroundings.

"I kinda wanna go for a dip." Gladiolus said as he eyed the bright water. Ignis cut in, as serious as ever.

"We must procure a ship. I'll go see if there's one in the port. The rest of you can do as you please." He finished with a push of his glasses, stepping towards the building.

As soon as the brunette left, Gladio turned towards Dawn. "We should probably look for that beast you're hunting, Dawn. I mean, we're heading to Altissia soon, and I'd hate to have you go it alone."

"You mean...Dawn's leaving us? **Already**?" The excitement and energy in Prompto's voice was gone; he looked at the redhead with a disappointed face.

"Well yeah. She's gotta get back to her group, and she can't do that if she's in Altissia."

The blonde was about to protest further until Ignis finally returned to them. "No luck...the port's closed, and there are no ships to be found." He said with a huff.

"Tch...just our luck." Noctis said, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Now what?"

"I suppose we settle in for the night, try again in the morning."

The Prince stretched his arms. "Alright."

The group ended up in the nearby trailer, as their wallets weren't exactly breaming with gil. Prompto and Noctis were the most disappointed about it; they certainly prefered soft beds over squishing together in a trailer or tent. When things were still getting set up, Gladiolus approached Dawn, who was looking out over the open ocean.

"Ready to roll, Dawn?"

The redhead quickly turned to him. "For what?"

"Your hunt, remember? Now's the perfect chance." He already had his sword, ready to be used from its resting point on his back.

A voice spoke up from the direction of the trailer. "Actually, I was hoping to borrow Dawn for a bit." Ignis said loudly, only his head peeking out from inside the trailer.

"What about her target? You said it yourself: She needs to get back to her group soon." Gladio replied.

"It won't take long. There will still be plenty of daylight left, but I suppose it's her choice."

The tall man crinkled his eyebrows. "Huh...that was kinda out of the blue." He said, almost to himself. He turned back to the redhead. "Well?"

Dawn shifted slightly, growing more and more uncomfortable under Gladio's gaze. "I'll...go and help him. We can hunt for the beast later."

"If...that's what you want."

With that, the uncomfortable woman headed to the trailer, silently thankful to Ignis for getting her out of that situation. Her cover was sure to be blown if they ended up hunting for a beast that didn't exist.

Before she got to the door, the brunette stepped out of the trailer. "Ah, so you're coming along?" He said.

"Sure. But, uh...to where?" Dawn said with confusion. Gladiolus was right: this was kind of out of the blue...

"I need a hand gathering some ingredients. Supper tonight should be quite good if we manage to find them."

"Alright then. Let's go."

The duo left the beach of Galdin, heading into the rocky wilderness that was home to a wide variety of plants as well as creatures. Back at the beach, Prompto ran out of the trailer only to see Ignis and Dawn leaving.

"H-hey guys! W-" A big hand suddenly stopped the blonde in his tracks before he could chase after them.

"Don't. Leave them be." A calm Gladiolus said, sword now put away.

"Huh? Why? I've got nothin' better to do."

"Those two need some alone time. We should let em' do their thing."

Prompto's mouth then grew into a wide, goofy grin. "Ahh...well, what do you know?"

The duo in question now had a good distance between them and the beach; they were well in beast territory now. In truth, Dawn felt a little uneasy without all of the eyes watching her back. There were a lot more blind spots now.

She wondered to herself why Ignis specifically asked for her and her alone. Any of the other guys were way more capable with their knowledge of the world being superior to hers...and Prompto would most likely be the most eager to help out...so why her? There was also the knawing reminder of the vision...

" _Shit...this might not have been the best idea._.." She mentally kicked herself. " _Should have just refused them both_."

Suddenly, Ignis stopped walking. He just stood there, looking at the ground.

"Did you find something?" Dawn asked him, wondering why he was just standing there.

The brunette sighed, still not meeting the redhead's gaze. He made no movement as he spoke. "Dawn...we're not looking for ingredients."

A red flag sprung up in Dawn's mind. "What? What do you mean we're not?" She said, her head tilted in confusion.

"I...need to ask you something...and please, tell me the truth."

When he finally met with her eyes, she started to panic. "Ok? What is it?"

The brunette shifted, eyebrows crinkled, mouth a stern line.

"You're not really a Hunter, are you?"

 **Oh snap. Dawn's in some hot water now. Let me know what you guys think!**


	8. I Walk This Path Alone

**It took some time to figure this chapter out, but here it is! I hope it's as good as I imagined it to be to you guys. I'm just trying to make sure there's a nice balance between conflict and details lining up.**

 **I'm getting pretty excited for where this story is going. Truth is, I want things to stretch out as much as possible. Don't want all the juicy stuff happening too fast, the romance being a big part of that.**

 **As always, I hope you guys enjoy and thank you to all who support me!**

 **Also, swearing.**

The accused redhead took a step back, eyes wide. " _How...? How did he find out?! Damn it...what do I do_?" She thought as the brunette's gaze seemed to pierce a hole through her skull. She couldn't quite tell exactly what was in his green eyes...anger? Betrayal? Sadness? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"I...I'm not sure what you mean." Said Dawn after a moment of thinking. Maybe she could get him off her tracks somehow...

"You know what I mean. Are you or are you not a real Hunter?" His face seemed to crinkle up a little.

Dawn's deeper green eyes lowered to the ground. She didn't really want to lie...but deep inside, she was afraid. Afraid of what they might do if they found out what she really was.

However, it looked like there wasn't any other option. She had to tell him.

"Ignis...I'm...I'm not really a Hunter. I'm not even sure what a 'Hunter' really is." She spoke in a soft voice, still not meeting his gaze. "...How did you know?"

"I've had my suspisions. Ever since we met."

"Then...how come you just now confront me? There were plenty of opportunities." Her mind started to think back to the nights where they talked. The more she thought about them, the more guilty she felt...but the more guilty she felt, the more she thought about the vision and it's seemingly unavoidable doom.

Ignis pushed up his glasses slightly, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her cheek. "I wasn't quite certain about the truth of your claim until I had more evidence. I wanted to be sure that you weren't telling the truth. No dog tag, no certain details about the so called 'target', avoiding the hunt with Gladio...it all came together."

" _Damn...I'm not very good at lying_..." Thought the redhead to herself; He was just too sharp.

"Dawn...why did you lie to us? We saved your life."

Without thinking, the woman's arms lifted a little to cover her stomach. "I know...and...I'm grateful. You guys didn't even know me and yet you took me in." She remembered when she was attacked by that beast...the four men rescuing her...Ignis treating her wounds. "It's...hard to explain."

The brunette sighed, getting frustrated. "Who are you? If you happen to be with the Empire then-"

"No! No...I swear, I'm not with the Empire. They can go to hell for all I care." She paused. "As for who I am...I think it would be best if you didn't know."

"What? Why?"

"Because I know you won't believe me...or, something. Even I'm starting to disbelieve it myself."

"I don't quite understand..."

"Why does it matter, Ignis? I have to leave you guys anyway. You'll all just forget me in a week or so." Dawn did feel guilty for not telling the truth, and for hiding her origins, but she realized: It would be better if they just forgot her. It would be better if she just left and never came back...it was easier that way. "I might as well just go."

Dawn turned away, walking to who knows where. Ignis quickly spoke up. " **That's not true**!" He yelled.

The redhead stopped in her tracks and sat there for a moment, a cloud of dust floating away from her feet.

"I...I could never forget you, Dawn. It matters to me who you are, and where you come from. I know you being a Hunter was a lie...but I know everything else you've told me was true."

The redhead didn't know what to say. Her heart wanted to soar, but at the same time...

"Please...if you're going to leave, at least tell me who you really are. I think we **all** deserve that much." He sounded...sad. Like if she left, his adventures with his friends wouldn't be the same. This made Dawn change her mind, if just for a moment.

She turned back to him. "Okay, you **really** wanna know?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll tell you. Ignis, I'm..." A lump started to form in her throat, trying to prevent her from spilling the secret. "...I'm a fairy. Happy?" Upon saying it, she felt like her windpipe was going to close up, cutting off her oxygen supply in punishment for what she had done. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

The brunette just stood there. He didn't know what to make of the new information, one that he had been wanting to know for a while. His lips moved slightly, trying to convey a singular thought. After a minute, he finally managed to make sense of something.

"You mean...you're a supernatural being with the power of nature?" He asked quietly, mind still a scramble.

"Well...I suppose. I'm not human, and I wield special powers. I come from Titania, a planet far away from here. I lied to you because you are human...who knows what you would have done if you knew...or will do."

Ignis's gloved hand met with his face, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. This was all so sudden...so...bizarre. Dawn could see the look on his face: **disbelief**.

" **See**? I **knew** you wouldn't believe me. This was a waste of time..." She huffed, turning on her heels to leave again.

Ignis still didn't respond. His words were nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Dawn stopped for a second once more.

"Goodbye, Ignis...It was nice meeting you, and the other guys...tell Noctis that I said 'good luck'." With that, she walked away from the one person she was closest to.

The brunette seemed to snap out of his confused trance somewhat upon seeing the redhead leave. "D-Dawn. Wait..." His small, meek voice called out to her, but it was no good. She was disconnected and gone...maybe forever.

He let her go. Dawn couldn't be stopped by anyone. As he saw her fiery ponytail getting smaller, his heart seemed to drop. Dawn was alone once again, but this time, she **chose** that path on her own. She didn't want him around...

The sun was close to touching the horizon. Bright orange light seeped through the shrubs, casting off long, dark shadows. Ignis, at that moment, felt like he was cast into the darkness. His world felt...smaller...darker than normal. Dawn was like some sort of torch; bringing light wherever she went...and now, that light was gone.

The woman in question didn't look back. Her eyes were set in front of her, leading her to wherever her feet were going. In truth, she felt her heart drop as well. As far as she remembered, no one ever concerned themselves with her problems or feelings...those four men were the only ones. When she spoke to Ignis about her fascination on stars, and how people at home treated her, everything felt...calmer. Her wretched waste of a life finally had some meaning. Her mind recalled one of the last things the brunette had said before she left.

" _I could never forget you, Dawn_."

A small smile appeared on her face. Despite leaving and the misunderstandings, she was glad she met Ignis and the others. She could never forget them either...and now Ignis was safe from the vision.

The sun was now hidden from view, the orange light slowly fading away into dark blue. The redhead knew what this meant: Deamons. Luckily, she eventually found a haven that was high above the ground.

" _Thank goodness I found a haven in time_..." Thought Dawn. " _Gonna have to sleep here for the night_."

She sat down on the rock, alone. A nice, comfy sleeping bag would be nice, but...this will have to do for now. From this point on, she would take care of herself.

Back at Galdin Quay, Gladiolus was waiting outside the trailer for the two missing people to return from their trip. He was quietly reading his book until he suddenly felt a presence.

"Iggy. You're finally back." He said, relieved that nothing bad happened to him out in the wilderness. It was then he noticed that someone was missing. "Uh...where's Sleeping Beauty?" He asked the glum-looking brunette.

Ignis gave a small, almost inaudible sigh. "She's...she's gone."

Gladio's eyes went wide. " **What**?! She left?"

"Yes. Said that she might as well just go."

The taller man could tell that this made his friend upset. Especially since he...

"Huh...she didn't even complete her hunt..."

At that moment, Noctis and Prompto arrived. They seemed to have been hanging out by the water, as their dripping clothes gave it away. Surprisingly, it was the Prince who spoke first, black hair somewhat sticking to his scalp.

"What happened, Specs?" He asked, concern creeping into his voice.

"Yeah, I don't see Dawn anywhere...did something happen?" Prompto chimed in, his hair suffering the same fate as his friend's. He seemed more worried than Noctis was.

Before Ignis could say anything, Gladiolus beat him to the draw. "He said she left. Just up and went."

Both Prompto and Noctis's eyes grew wide in shock.

"W-what?! **Left**?! Aw, Iggy..." The blonde consoled the brunette, though the brunette wasn't quite sure why he was directly consoling him.

"But the hunt." Said Noctis. "She wasn't finished with it. She's planning to do it herself?"

"She was never on a hunt." Ignis said above all of the commotion. His eyes seemed to get slightly darker. "She lied to us."

The boys stood there, looking at each other. This whole time, she was fooling them...but for what reason?

"So she isn't a Hunter then? Why would she lie like that?" The tallest man crossed his arms in confusion and anger. Gladiolus did not take lying easily, and it could be clearly seen from his distressed face and tougher demeanor.

"She said that...she was a **fairy**."

"...You've **gotta** be kidding."

"That's what she told me. She said she lied because we were human and she wasn't."

It seemed cruel, but the boys wanted to laugh out of how stupid it sounded.

The tallest man was the first to be open about it. "A magical pixie with a wand and wings? Get real." He scoffed.

"That does seem pretty far-fetched..." Said Prompto, sounding more sad than anything. Despite Dawn lying, he enjoyed having her around.

Even Noctis sounded just a tad glum as well, though he didn't let it show. "Well, whatever the case...she's on her own now. We should hit the hay, Ignis."

The brunette nodded in agreement. Maybe some rest would be just what he needed to get his mind off of the recent events. "Right. I'll prepare us something for dinner first."

After the group had their dinner, they retired for the night. Everyone was sleeping soundly in their own areas...except Ignis.

Even when she seemingly explained herself, it was still confusing as hell. She was comfortable around them, and even opened up to him, only to be lying...and just randomly leave. There was also the crazy part...a fairy from another planet? How could that be possible? Everything about her was perfectly human...there was no way she was **that** different.

Still, even if that were true...they proved that they weren't enemies. He did everything possible to let her know that she was safe...you would think by then she would realize that telling the truth might not have been all bad. He just couldn't understand it...

Ignis turned to his side. No matter what he believed...no matter how much he dwelled on it, it didn't matter; She wasn't coming back. That was the last time he would see that fiery red hair of hers...those deep green eyes...

Before he knew it, Ignis fell asleep with thoughts of Dawn.

When morning came, the brunette did feel a bit more refreshed, but not by much. The tossing and turning that night did not bode well.

Everyone else was awake, except Noctis of course. He was always last to wake up...well, except for yesterday...

He shook his head. There had to be something he could do to take his mind off of this...

"Mornin'." Greeted Prompto, eyes still a little droopy.

"Good morning." Ignis replied. "I think I shall go and check on the dock. Surely some progress had to have been made."

"Right-o."

With that, the brunette put on his jacket and shoes, and left for the nearby docks. The salty sea breeze flowed through his brown hair, playing with the spikes. The water was shining, the fish were swimming happily underneath the surface. Thankfully, the view of the beach and focus he had on the boat was just enough to keep the fiery woman out of his tired mind. He couldn't afford to falter now, not when the Prince needed him.

As he arrived inside the building across the bridge, something had caught his eye on one of the empty tables. There was a slab of paper on it, with big bold letters on the front...a newspaper. As the brunette approached it, the letters began to become more and more clear...

At the trailer, Noctis had finally emerged from his deep slumber. He stretched and yawned, thankful to have gotten a good night's rest. Upon seeing that no one else was present inside of the trailer, he exited out the door onto the soft sand. Prompto and Gladio were there, just sitting in the chairs.

"Sup'." Greeted the tallest man, nodding towards the Prince.

"Sup'. Where's Specs?" Replied Noctis, noticing that he wasn't around for some reason.

Prompto spoke up. "Said he was gonna' check on the boats. Should be back soon."

As if on cue, the brunette had appeared from the parking lot, some sort of paper in his hand. He was walking in a somewhat fast pace towards them, which wasn't exactly normal.

"Hey. Uh...what's that look for?" Said Noctis as his friend approached. Ignis was wearing a strange look on his face, thought he couldn't tell exactly what it was or what it meant. All he knew was that it seemed to be something bad.

Ignis handed the paper to Gladio, not responding to the question. "It's in all the papers." He said.

Gladiolus took the paper, studying its contents with crinkled eyebrows.

Not one with being patient, Prompto rose and jutted his face next to the taller man, reading the paper aloud.

"'Insomnia...falls'?"

 **Poor Iggy. :(**

 **Let me know what you guys think! Hope I didn't mess anything up!**


	9. Sorrow Like Cold Water

**Finally another chapter, haha. Things have been a little rough lately, and been kinda depressed, so inspiration came a little slow on this one.**

 **I hope that the story isn't getting too boring for anyone. I try to stretch things out as much as possible because I tend to be an impatient writer/reader, and the story would be a lot better if it were more than 3 chapters, LOL. Well, at least in my opinion.**

 **I gave a lot more thought into the story and where it's going, so I think I have most of the major plot points planned out. All there is now is to work out the details and write it!**

 **As always, hope you enjoy and thank you to all who read/support!**

 **Very slight swearing, and all FF characters belong to Square Enix.**

After saying goodbye to Ignis (and the others), Dawn had ended up on her own at the haven. It was a lot quieter...a lot more...lonely. She was just getting used to Prompto's loud voice, the ' _swoosh_ ' of Gladio's blade as he practiced, the sizzle of something being cooked on the stove...now the only noise was the wind and the faraway cries of beasts.

Being alone was nothing new for the redhead; things are now just like they were back home, only with different surroundings. The redhead nodded to herself, certain that this was how it was suppose to be...this was what she chose it to be.

Or... **was** it?

Yes, Ignis was safe from the vision, and she could now choose her own fate, but...did it **really** need to be like this?

Dawn scolded herself once again. " _Stop thinking things like that_!" She told herself. " _It's going to be like this, and that's that. No turning back now_."

Sleep didn't seem to come easily, so she ended up looking at the sky on her back instead. The bright stars were now visable, the moon's bright light peeking over the landscape.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't really know what to do next. There was no way to return to Titania now...like she even **wanted** to go back to that hellhole. However, she was still foreign to this world. No one here had magical powers or tribes. Well, they sort of had tribes, but it was different. There was still so much about Eos that Dawn didn't know or understand; the government here was a little strange, as well as people's own agenda. Usually the people dedicated a lot of their lives and time to their ruler...but in Eos, every human seemed to be individual. Still under the rule of their government, only they had lives completely seperate from them.

Individuality...that concept was somewhat weird with Dawn. She had lived alone most of her life, but at the same time, she was always seen as something...bigger. Always a part of some grand scheme. It wasn't often where she was seen as just Dawn and nothing else.

Except for these past few days.

" _That's only because they didn't know about the vision_..." Thought the redhead. " _They all saw me as just another human. Nothing special_."

That would have changed if only Ignis actually believed her...this fact gave Dawn a few mixed feelings. However, it was all in the past now. She wasn't going to see him ever again, and none of this will even matter.

Suddenly, Dawn's fingers met with her cheek as she felt something roll down. It was...wet? Wait...was she actually...?

"W-why am I crying?" She said to herself. Did the thought of never seeing Ignis again really make her that sad?

" _Getting nearly beaten to death is one thing, seeing your long lost mother for the first time is another, but never seeing one human again? Come on. He's not that important. None of them are_."

Now somewhat frustrated about her own emotions, Dawn turned to her side to sleep. She didn't need any of these doubts...she didn't need her heart dragging her to wherever it wanted to; She had to be in control if she was going to choose her own path in life. There wasn't any turning back now...

Morning came sooner than expected. The redhead was brought back from sleep by the sharp, beaming light of the sun in her closed eyes.

She groaned as her body rose from her resting place; her muscles were aching from sleeping on straight up rock. The musky, creaky trailer now sounded a lot more appealing.

"I swear guys, if you call me Sleeping Beauty again..." She said to nothing, immediately realizing what she just did as her eyes finally opened to see nobody there.

The only thing that responded was the breeze. A scoff escaped out of the redhead's mouth. " _Must be a habit, I guess_."

As she rose to her feet, she thought about what her next move would be. The safest bet would be to avoid any and all humans, as well as the beasts, lest she tempt to make the vision come true again. So that really only left her with one option:

Live just like she did before. Alone in her own little space, unknown to the world and everything in it.

She could just pretend she's another human and live a 'normal' life, but again, the vision got in the way. There were just too many humans to not get close to. Eventually, she would just end up back at square one. No, this was the best option.

So Dawn left. She would journey across Lucis, searching for a remote place where no human or beast dared to go. Never again would anything control her fate.

As she travelled, she saw various things like broken down cars, herds of creatures, and a variety of plant life. A great part of Lucis was desert, but it seemed full of life and wonder. A part of Dawn felt somewhat excited to see more of this strange world and learn about its inhabitants...before shutting herself away forever.

The redhead's mind was on autopilot; thoughts of Ignis and his friends were pushed to the back, hoping that they wouldn't surface again for the time being. The more her mind dwindled on the subject, the more her heart threatened to take control...the more that the doubt grabbed at her heels, wanting her to stop.

Dawn stopped walking. Her fist involuntarily clenched up into a ball, knuckles turning white. Nothing in the world could ever help the redhead figure out exactly why it hurt so much. As she walked further and further away, it was like...like a huge weight was slowly being lowered onto her whole being. The crushing feeling slowed her down a little, her steps not as wide and lively as before. Her eyes were focused on the ground instead of taking in the foreign landscapes around her. This pain...ugh.

She suddenly whirled around to face behind her. " _I could have sworn I felt someone there._.." She thought. It was quick, but it **was** there. She shook her head after a minute; there's no way someone was following her, it was probably just a beast or something.

The day had eventually gone by, the sun was sinking below the horizon. The sky had turned bright with orange and pink as the clouds reflected the light. It was time for another haven. "Well, I could use the rest anyway." The redhead said to herself. "Gonna' need to find something to eat, though..."

Her stomach responded with a low growl. Things were so messed up at the moment that she had forgotten to keep up with her basic needs.

Thankfully, there were easy prey in this area. It didn't take long for Dawn to pick off one of the creatures roaming about and bring it to the nearby haven for dinner. The light from the sun was now completely gone, replaced with pitch darkness.

At the haven, Dawn gently put the body of the beast on the ground and examined her surroundings.

" _It looks like I'm clear_..." She thought. Ever since she had arrived here in Eos, her fire magic was never unleashed due to her secret. This was her first opportunity to try and actually use it, away from the prying eyes of humans.

"Moment of truth..." She said under her breath as her hand rose up to face the small pile of wood. There was no telling what could happen with her magic in this world.

The wood burst into flame as a sudden ' _whoosh_ ' filled the night air. It really worked-her hand lit up with fire and hit the wood with a blast of flame!

For some reason, this relieved Dawn. Her magic was still here and working normally, despite being in a different world. At least there was **that** comfort.

The beast's body was crackling and sizzling over the fire when the smell suddenly reminded her of something...or...some **one**. The image of four figures sitting together, laughing together, danced in her brain. The image of a head of yellow hair waving in the darkness...a tall figure towering over everyone even in sitting position...black bangs playing over a pair of piercing blue eyes...the quick shine of a set of glasses...

It was at this moment that Dawn had finally realized what this all meant. The constant thoughts, the crushing pain, the tears...she was **missing** them. She missed the laughter and the closeness. She missed sharing dinner with them over a cozy fire. She missed sharing a mug of that coffee.

Upon having this epiphany, her heart swelled in agreement. The sorrow washed over her like she was lowering herself in a pool of cold water. It was strange...how did she get so attatched to them? It hasn't even been that long and it already felt like her world was a lot colder. Being around a group of close friends seems to do things to you, especially if you've never known that kind of closeness before.

These new overwhelming feelings were so weird and sudden to the redhead. There was so much going on with her emotions at once that random, involuntary things started happening, like crying and not even knowing it...thinking about them even when she didn't want to...speaking to people that weren't even there.

If she was being completely honest with herself, Dawn didn't **want** to feel these things. At least, not all at once. These feelings only slowed her down and made her life miserable. Misery was certainly something she had enough of already.

"I just need to get to somewhere safe..." She said to herself. "Then I can put all of this behind me."

But...would that **really** solve everything? Would she really be okay with life at that point?

Well...it was that or kill Ignis with her own hands and destroy her home planet, and that was certainly not an option. It would hurt even more if that happened...not really because of her planet's destruction...but Ignis's death. He didn't deserve it...any of it.

Despite the sorrow that plagued Dawn's heart, she drew up the strength to carry on. This is what she usually did anyway. The boys would know peace as she would be far away from them, and that is what mattered most. Without her, they can live long and happy lives...and the best part was, she wouldn't be forgotten.

Ignis was going to live, no matter what.

 **Yeah, Dawn! Get that fire burnin'! Haha.**


	10. A Dream So Real

**Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. My mood and inspiration haven't been the best lately, but I'm glad I managed to get another chapter out. It's a little short, but hey, better than nothing I suppose!**

 **Thank you to all who support me and take the time to read my story. Special shoutout to P.S. Alexanzondria (sorry if I spelled that wrong) for giving so much support and love, adding onto the wonderful things I've been getting so far! You guys give me courage.**

 **Slight swearing, and hope you enjoy!**

The next day was mostly a blur; the only thing that Dawn really remembered so far was waking up and leaving the haven in the morning. She guessed that all that went on was more walking and searching. Nothing too important to keep in her memory.

She still didn't know where she was or which direction was which; all that mattered was to move forward and hope for the best. Without Noctis and the gang, there was no telling where she would end up.

As the journey continued, thoughts of Zafirah ended up surfacing somehow.

" _I wonder what she's up to_..." Thought Dawn. " _She said she was the catalyst in bringing Titania's destruction...I wonder if bringing me here to Eos is the only thing she'll do. If teleporting a person across planets is something that can be done, surely it's possible for her to teleport herself, right? There has to be more to it than meets the eye_..."

The image of her mother doing that weird pose before blacking out was burned into her mind.

" _Maybe she_ _ **wants**_ _Titania's destruction. I mean, why else would she want the vision to come true so badly? It doesn't make a lot of sense_..." She sighed. " _I wish I could get some damn answers for once. I've been kept in the dark long enough_."

For a minute, the redhead finally took notice of her surroundings as there was a pause in her thoughts.

The scenery was starting to look a little different: trees were getting slightly more frequent, and there were finally some signs of water. It looked like she might be heading towards the edge of the usual desert.

" _This could be good...I can find a spot deep in the trees that no one knows about_."

Away, her legs carried her, deeper into the unknown. She was fortunate enough to not run into any ferocious beasts so far, to her relief. She could only hope that this luck would continue on as she journeyed further...there is only so much one woman can do, even if she is a fairy from another world.

A strange feeling crept into Dawn. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something amiss...something she wasn't seeing.

 _What is this weird feeling_?

Suddenly, a burst of wind crashed into the redhead's face, making her gasp in surprise. In front of her was then a small, bright orb in the span of a second.

It looked a lot like...

"...M- **Mother**?" Said Dawn under her breath as the orb floated there, casting a bright light. There was no way...

The orb started morphing into a familiar shape, arms and legs growing out of it, followed by a head and short hair.

"Yes." That calm, strong voice said.

It really **was** Zafirah.

Dawn's voice seemed to get weaker, unable to project her usual tone. Now, of all times, her mother appears out of nowhere? What the hell is going on?

After her body was completely normal again, Zafirah spoke. "It's good to see you again, my daughter."

" _Whatever her purpose for being here is_ ," Thought Dawn in anger. " _This time she's gonna tell me everything...one way or another_."

Dawn's eyebrows crinkled in response. "Really? That's what you have to say?"

Her mother ignored the remark. "If you seek answers, find me in Insomnia."

"What?"

"I shall grant you peace...if you find me."

With that vague message, Zafirah then dispersed into streaks of light, and disappeared into thin air...leaving Dawn alone once more.

Dawn stood still for a minute, her hand clenched into a fist. Once again did her mother appear before her and just brushed her off. However...

There might be a way to get those answers now...in Insomnia, if what she said was to be believed. But why would she be there of all places? More importantly, how could Dawn find her way there? She still had no clue where she even was currently.

" _I don't know what to do_..." Thought the redhead. " _Everything is so messed up right now...what is my mother planning?! Someone, anyone, answer me dammit_!"

Out of pure anger and frustration, the fiery woman then looked up into the sky and yelled. There was only so much she could take, and yelling was really the only hope of possibly relieving some of the built up emotion inside.

As soon as she was done, there was suddenly a voice, off in the distance. It called out to her in response.

"Dawn!"

That voice...it sounded familiar. Male...and with a slight accent maybe? It was strong and definitive...

The veil was finally lifted as her memories came rushing in like a tidal wave. Her heart started beating slightly faster.

She has never needed someone as badly as she did now...everything was falling apart, and she felt like she was going to collapse. She felt alone and powerless.

Dawn called back to the voice in desperation...almost pleading for it to come find her in this dark place.

" **Ignis**!"

Everything turned to white. The voice was gone, along with her mother.

Dawn sprung up from the rocky ground, panting and with sweat covering her face. She wasn't standing in the forest...she was sitting on a haven. _Wait_...

"It was...all a **dream**?"

Her hand met with her matted hair, feeling the beading sweat. It felt so real...she could have sworn it was. Her heart was beating out of her chest, ready to jump out of its place. After looking around for a minute, she finally realized where she was: It was the haven from last night.

So she really did fall asleep and ended up having a crazy dream...

" _'Find me in Insomnia'_..." The redhead recalled. " _The city that the boys come from? But...why_?" She also recalled Ignis being there near the end of the dream. That, too, was also a mystery...but one thing was clear.

What she had been telling herself about him was wrong. He **was** important, like the other boys were. She wanted them here, with her, again.

This only caused even more pain to the redhead. They're probably far away by now...off to Altissia and to Noctis's wedding. There was no reason for them to be here in Lucis and be thinking about her.

"Enough with these thoughts..." Dawn said to herself, frustrated but also sad. "Time to continue on."

She got up from the ground, ready to leave the haven. For real this time.

Oddly enough, she did eventually arrive at the place she drempt about. Trees getting more frequent, signs of water...the edge of the desert. _Creepy_.

There was no sign of Zafirah or Ignis as she went further and further into the new area. All she saw were a few beasts and small creatures, which she avoided.

It was very weird how she drempt of her mother telling her to go somewhere out of the blue...almost like she invaded her mind and took over, avoiding any physical presence whatsoever. Well, it didn't really matter now; it was only a dream...right?

About thirty minutes had passed until the redhead finally came across something interesting. Some sort of building, a lot like the one in Hammerhead. It was red and white with a few cars parked in the front. "Must be some sort of store...or something." She thought, still not completely familiar with the human world.

Dawn was about to go the opposite direction and further into the unknown when something caught her eye. A special kind of car was approaching the building...she gasped as it pulled into the parking lot and stopped, jogging her memory.

It was Ignis and the boys.

The fiery woman couldn't believe it. They never made it to Altissia and somehow appeared at the exact place that she was passing by. This had to be another dream...

The four boys had exited the car, only for Noctis to reach in his pocket and pull out his phone. It seemed like he got a call from someone.

She really should have been leaving as soon as she saw the familiar Regalia, but her curiosity got the better of her. Why didn't they go to Altissia? Maybe there were still no boats they could take? Weird...considering Noctis is royalty; he should have no problem getting access to a boat.

Involuntarily, she felt some kind of joy as well as panic in seeing them again. After having the weird dream and realizing that she was missing them, it honestly felt good to be near them now.

" _I can't stay_." She thought to herself with a pang of sorrow. " _I'll just find out what's going on, then I'll leave_."

She slowly crept up to the side of the building, trying her best to listen in on the group, without being spotted.

"Yeah. Will do." Unfortunately, Noctis was already done with the phone call, depriving Dawn of possibly important information.

"That Iris? Damn...can't even call her own brother." That voice was Gladio, for sure. Apparently he has a sister somewhere, and she was calling Noctis for some reason. It must have been important if she was calling him and not her brother.

Prompto's voice was unmistakable. "Hey Noct, she say anything about me?" _Always the flirt, that one..._

The redhead was deep in thought about what it could have all meant. Maybe she asked them for a favor? Maybe it was about the failure to get to Altissia...but then, why would Noctis be smiling? That couldn't be it...

Suddenly, her mind was thrown back into reality as she saw something come into view, but it was already too late.

Her deep green eyes met with the pair of lighter ones behind those little windows once more. The shocking silence stretched out between them for a few moments until she finally saw his lips moving, his voice ripe with confusion.

"D-Dawn?" He said softly.

Ignis had found her.

 **Is this a good or bad thing? Time will only tell...**


	11. When a Shield is Not a Shield

**Hmm...this chapter feels a bit short, but I think it's ok. Recently, my laptop has been really messed up, so the process of writing and publishing is somewhat slower. I also just got a job at a golf course, so I won't have as much time to think. I should still have a weekly update, though.**

 **Thank you to all who read/support, as always!**

 **Slight swearing.**

Seeing the team's advisor once more was...somehow overwhelming.

It may had only been two nights since she left the boys, but it felt so much longer. The journey around Lucis was more than just walking around; her heart had discovered more and more things as time went on...mainly what she desired most.

If she was being completely honest with herself, Dawn wanted to just fall into Ignis's arms right then and there; just let out all of the bottled up emotions and rest...she felt so... **tired**.

As the fleeting moments passed, she wondered if he felt the same way; missing her and feeling sad over the thought of never seeing her again. Deep down, she hoped that he did.

Time finally went back to normal as the redhead spoke back to him. For all of the things she wanted to say that could fill a library, it was summed down to one, small sentence:

"Yeah...it's me, Ignis."

The personal reunion was cut short as the rest of the gang had appeared into view, wondering where their cook had gone. No matter how each of them felt about Dawn at the moment, it was safe to say that they weren't expecting her to be there.

"Oh. Em. Gee. Is that really you, Dawn?!" Prompto exclaimed, his jaw seemingly dropping.

The redhead only gave a slight nod in response, nearly kicking herself for blowing her cover. Lately she appeared to be screwing up a lot of things, from her cover story to even simple stealth. If she were back home, she would be dead by now.

Noctis also wore a shocked face as he processed what was in front of him. " **You**?"

Gladio's expression wasn't as sincere or excited. As if to protect Ignis from a projectile, he approached and pulled him back slightly.

"What are you doing here? Spying on us?" He said in a more menacing tone than normal. It was clear that she had crossed some sort of line without even stating it aloud.

The fiery woman's arms rose up slightly to touch her stomach without thinking. The hostility was a perfectly normal response to her actions, but still...

"Well...I just...I wanted to-"

"Comon', guys. Pretty soon she'll report to the Niffs, and then we're busted."

Dawn immediately shot up to face the tall man directly. "I'm not with the Empire! I was only eavesdropping because I wanted to know why you didn't go to Altissia!"

Gladio only scoffed. "Sure. And I suppose you being a magical alien fairy is true also?" He turned back to Ignis. "Let's go, Iggy."

The redhead was about to give him a piece of her mind when the brunette suddenly swatted away Gladiolus's hand from his shoulder. Both people stared at him in surprise at the out-of-character movement.

" **Enough** , Gladio!" Ignis said with conviction as he looked into the taller man's eyes. "Dawn is **not** with the Empire."

Dawn gasped under her breath upon hearing the outburst. Ignis was...defending her? But why?

"You're tellin' me you actually believe this fraud? After she made us all look like idiots? After fooling us this entire time even though we saved her sorry ass?"

The brunette slowly turned back at Dawn, a strange but somewhat comforting look in his eyes. "...Yes. She may have lied about being a Hunter, but...I know for certain she is not in league with the Emperor."

The woman could only stare back at the brunette. After everything she had said and done, he chose to side with **her.** He chose to oppose the person who he had known far longer...

"Y-Yeah! Dawn's too nice to be working for the bad guys. I'm with Iggy on this one." Prompto spoke up from behind them.

"Not you too, Prompto." Said Gladio, his voice sounding more and more irritated by the minute. "Alright then...what say his Majesty?"

Noctis stepped closer in with the group, looking at the redheaded woman. "Well, she did lie to us, but..." He paused, thinking of what to say, which was rare for someone like Noctis. "If Specs and Blondie approve, then she must be alright."

Defeated, Gladiolus then lowered his head to the ground. "Hmph. Have it your way." With that, the tall man walked away, back towards the Regalia.

The three remaining boys turned back to face the now stunned redhead. "You guys..." She started, pulling herself from her stunned state. "I don't understand. Aren't you angry with me? I don't get why you would defend me..."

"Thank Ignis here." Said Noctis. "If it weren't for him, I don't think I would have changed my mind."

"Same. I-I mean, I did have faith in you, Dawn...but the way that Iggy stood up for you sealed the deal." Said Prompto, scratching his head in embarrassment. "You just can't say no when he's that serious about something."

Dawn's eyes met with the brunette's, noticing his cheeks turning the slightest pink. _Why is he acting so strange_? "So you did believe me after all..." She said.

The team's advisor nodded. "You have hid the truth, yes...however, I have spent some time thinking about the situation, and I've come to the conclusion that everything else you have told us must be true." His eyes drifted to the side, his hand pushing up his glasses. "You're not a bad person, Miss Spectrum."

Dawn ever so slightly chuckled at the return of her formal name. "Thank you..." she said, a feeling of a weight being lifted enveloping her. She could now feel more at ease about leaving the boys, knowing that they wouldn't part on a bad note. However, there was still one thing that was left unaddressed.

"So, uh...Dawn?" The blonde cut in. "Is it really true that you're...um...a fairy?"

The fairy in question sighed. " _No point in hiding it now_..." She thought. "Yeah, it's true, Prompto. I'm a fairy from another world."

"Woaaahh..." The blonde gawked. "Can you show us? You have some sort of magical power, right?"

"I do, but...there's people around and I...don't trust other people to know what I am."

"Oh...wait, I have an idea! Come with us! We can go somewhere with less people like...like...oh! The Chocobo place! You can show us your powers there!"

"We actually need to be heading to Lestallum." Ignis butted in. "We need to plan our next move."

"Nah, we can make the time." Said the dark haired Prince. "I want to see Dawn's powers too."

The brunette nodded upon Noctis's words, his voice hiding joy. "Very well, it's decided. Miss Spectrum, would you like to join us and demonstrate your abilities?"

The fiery woman stood in place for a minute, unsure of what to say. This encounter was never suppose to even happen, let alone end in her going with them again, bringing her back to square one. The whole point of her leaving was so they could move on in peace...however...

She owed them. After seemingly forgiving her for her actions and even defending her from Gladio, the redhead felt that they deserved the truth...all of it. _Maybe once they know the full story, they'll understand why I need to leave forever. Besides, it won't be long. All I have to do is show them my powers. Easy._

Her thoughts didn't address it, but she knew that she wanted this. To be with Ignis and his friends once more, laughing and fighting together like they did before. She wanted to relive those happy few days, and it seemed like now she had the opportunity. Just one last time together, properly, before becoming hidden to the universe...then they could both walk their seperate paths without any regrets.

"I guess it's the least I can do." Dawn replied with a slight nod. "I owe you guys an explaination."

Prompto wore a big grin, like he usually did. It was one of the things Dawn missed the most; that grin was such a happy, goofy grin that it made everything feel brighter and happier. In fact, it made the redhead want to grin as well. Hell, Prompto's attitude in general was contagious.

"Aw yeah! This is so cool!" He said. "Not only gettin' to meet Chocobos, but also gettin' to see a real live fairy in action!"

With that, the now group of four gathered in the Regalia, ready to head to their next destination: Wiz's Chocobo Post. Dawn had no clue what a Chocobo even **was** , but she guessed it was some sort of animal based on the context of which the word was used. It seemed like everyone was excited to visit...

Except Gladio.

Upon noticing the fiery woman entering the vehicle, he gave a sharp exhale. "Now she's joining us again? Fraud can't make up her mind."

The blonde turned around in his seat to face the man. "Give it a rest, big guy. Once you see what she's made of, you'll change your tune."

"Sure. Whatever you say."

For the entirety of the car ride, Gladiolus didn't even speak or look at Dawn. This made her slightly sad, but she knew there was no forcing him to believe; all that could be done was to show him her powers and hope for the best. If he never comes around, then that would be his choice.

There was at least one thing that Dawn had learned about Gladiolus from the time they spent together: once his mind was set on something, it would take a pretty great force to change it.

On the way there, Ignis had spoken up from the driver's seat, the wind playing with his hair. "I must say, it's good to have you with us, Miss Spectrum."

"Kinda' have to agree with him. Waking up second to last was something I could get used to." Said Noctis.

Prompto gave a short laugh from the shotgun seat. "Don't forget the bedhead. Ain't that right, Sleeping Beauty?"

"All of you, shut you're traps before I shut em' for ya'!" Replied Dawn in a joking tone. Immediately, her mood improved. Being back together with the gang made her so happy...even if one of them was still sour to her. Without them, laughter in the fairy's life was in very short supply; the four friends made her feel what it was like to belong somewhere...something she wanted to feel forever. At least the fond memories would stay in her heart until the end of time, never forgotten.

 **Like I said, feels pretty short, but I hope you guys liked it nonetheless!**


	12. Fun Day at the Post

**Sorry for the delay, but I finally managed to get this chapter done. My laptop is super messed up, plus I'm working now, so I might not be as quick. I hope this makes up for it.**

 **Thank you so much to those that read/support my story. It means the world to me!**

 **Slight swearing.**

Weirdly enough, Dawn felt slight butterflies in her stomach; this one last outing with them would be the last, and she wasn't sure what they expected from her. Her powers were nothing to really scoff at, but what if they were expecting more...like being able to burn an entire forest with a wave of her hand?

Whatever she would do would have to be enough. Just prove to them that their belief in her was not wrongly placed. Especially Ignis...he didn't even hesitate at that moment to jump to her aid...she couldn't let him down.

They were now fully outside of the desert when something came into view. It was a small building with some sort of yellow fabric acting as a roof for part of it. There were animal pens and little tables with chairs surrounding the building, though not many people were there at the time. Dawn's eyes grew wide as she saw the 'animals' the boys were speaking of.

Huge bird-looking creatures, with feathers the color of sunflowers. According to the various saddles that were strewn about, it would seem that these creatures could be ridden. " _Horse-bird...things_?" Thought the redhead.

"We're finally here." Said Ignis as he found a spot to park.

"Chocobos! Chocobos!" Yelled Prompto, ready to jump out of the car in excitement. He eyed the whole area, taking in all the surroundings.

It wasn't until they had exited the car when a rush of foul air hit the redhead's nose. "Ugh...smells terrible." She said while suddenly regretting ever coming here.

Noctis followed suit as his face also scrunched up in distaste. "Can't mistake the smell of Chocobos..." He said.

"Quit whining. Let's just get this over with." Said Gladiolus, his back to the group. He was already looking for a remote spot for the others.

Dawn turned to face him, a grimace slowly appearing. She understood his little attacks at her, but it was starting to get under her skin. Why couldn't he just keep quiet and let this thing blow over?

The smaller blonde man approached, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder as she was staring a hole into Gladio's back. "Don't listen to him, Sleeping Beauty. Just give him time."

Her mind was only half-present when she responded. "Yeah, I figured...wait, what did you just call me?" Deep green eyes finally met with blue as her mind suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Oh! Um...uh...nothing!" Said Prompto in playful panic, putting his hands up.

The redhead raised a fiery eyebrow in a joking manner. It wasn't long until Noctis butted in. "Uh oh. Better run, Chocobo Butt." He said with a smirk.

The man with the hair matching the crude discription made a face at the dark-haired Prince. "Hey! My hair is **not** a Chocobo butt!"

"And here I thought it couldn't get worse than 'Sleeping Beauty'." The redhead said with a chuckle. Both her and Noctis laughed as Prompto tried covering up his golden locks.

Before the laughter died, Ignis approached the trio. "I beg to differ. 'Specs' isn't exactly ideal, either."

The duo renewed their giggling, now with even Ignis and Prompto joining in as well. After the wonderful moment had passed, the brunette then spoke again, his tone returning to its usual seriousness. "I found a location that is somewhat hidden from the prying eye." He pointed behind him to an area that was surrounded by trees and bushes, providing the most cover out of any of the other spots around.

However, Dawn shook her head. "Still, there's some people around...what if they see?"

"Aww...somebody's shy, huh?" The blonde teased.

"No, I just..."

"Would you prefer we wait until nightfall?" Said Ignis, the fiery woman detecting the smooth, comforting tone that seems to only happen with her.

Dawn took a minute to think: Daemons appear at night, but it looked like they would be safe enough if they stayed near the post. Besides...if push came to shove, her powers were at full disposal. When it came to protecting the boys, it didn't matter if other people knew the truth or not. Waiting until nighttime to show them her powers would only be a few hours more...there's no harm in that, right?

"Yeah. That would probably be better." Said Dawn after making up her mind. Ignis turned to Noctis, waiting for confirmation. Even if this side trip was mainly for Dawn, the decisions were still up to the crown Prince.

Said Prince nodded at the brunette, his black bangs covering even more of his face. "Fine by me."

One of the Chocobos behind the group jumped in the air and made a loud noise, as if to respond to Noctis's words with joy. Prompto was back to vibrating with excitement upon seeing his favorite animal. "How bout' we see the Chocobos in the meantime? I **reeeeeeally** wanna' ride one..." He said, more of a whimper than anything.

The redhead eyed the giant bird with curiosity. "I've been meaning to ask...what exactly **is** a Chocobo?"

"Only the greatest thing known to man! Comon'!"

He didn't even wait for a response as he suddenly darted towards what looked to be the owner, patience flying out of the window. Noctis shrugged and faced Dawn.

"I guess it's worth a shot." He said.

Gladio, still standing in the same spot, only turned to look at Prompto and ' _humph_ 'ed.

Noticing his friend's obvious disapproval, Noctis pointed to a nearby table. "You can just wait here if you want. You don't have to come with. Let's go, guys."

Dawn gave Gladiolus one last look before following everyone else. Whether it was hostile or just sad, no one really knew for sure. The only thing that was certain was the thick, awkward air that surrounded the two...one could only hope the fog would clear soon.

A few minutes later, Dawn ended up at one of the last places she expected to be: next to a giant yellow bird.

"Um...are you **sure** about this?" She said. Prompto and Noctis were already on their birds and riding around the area. Ignis had his bird, but decided to help his redheaded friend first.

"Positive. Chocobos are friendly creatures, Miss Spectrum. I assure you, nothing bad will happen."

Dawn gave a quick scoff. "I'm not scared of the damn thing, Iggy. I...just wanna make sure this is the...right bird." She lied. In truth, seeing the creature up close intimidated her somewhat; the bird could easily just fall over and crush her, considering how strong it must be to carry people on its back.

The brunette in turn gave her a small smirk. "Of course. You're not afraid of anything at all."

"I can just see the sarcasm oozing out of your mouth."

Ignis searched past Dawn and the bird, making sure the others were preoccupied. The fiery woman almost gasped as she felt his hand touch her arm gently.

"It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of. Trust me."

A familiar feeling ran through Dawn's body as she stood there, barely a foot away from him. She could practically feel his body heat...a shiver went through her. Somehow, Ignis was able to see right through the lie, knowing full well that she really was afraid.

Her heart started beating a little faster.

"Ignis..." She sighed, knowing the jig was up. "Alright...I trust you." Cheeks started to warm to a rosy pink; this was also one of the things she ended up missing the most while being away. Being this close to the team's advisor somehow felt so... **right**. It was safe to say that the vision was completely out of her mind at the moment, giving in to what she wanted more than what was needed.

The feeling of wanting to fall in his arms surfaced once more.

Before Ignis could break contact, she spoke again while her eyes drifted to the ground. "You know...you've been supporting me an awful lot, Iggy..."

For a split second, the brunette's composure was broken. "I...I suppose I have been."

"Why? It's not like you owe me anything. In fact...it's more like the other way around."

It was Ignis's turn to sigh. "No...you have no debt to me, Miss Spectrum. It was just...the right thing to do."

"...There's more to it then that. It's my turn to see through your lies."

"Dawn..."

At that moment, they heard the familiar voice of Prompto, bringing them back from their little moment. "Guys! You comin' or what?"

Both Ignis and Dawn quickly backed away from each other, hoping that the blonde didn't notice.

"We'll be right there!" Called the brunette, already getting hold of the redhead's bird to help her get on. "Here. Just place your foot here, and lift yourself over." He instructed the still stunned woman next to him.

It took a few seconds, but she finally snapped back to reality once again and followed his instructions. The nerves in her arm were still tingly even with the absence of his touch. "Like...this?" She asked as she placed her foot firmly into the small loop.

"Exactly. Now just swing over."

Everything seemed fine so far as she managed to settle herself on the Chocobo's back. The bird was completely calm, like people getting on it's back was to be expected everyday. Upon seeing this, Dawn managed to completely calm down as well.

Ignis was already on top of his bird and by her side. "All you need to do is tap it's sides with your feet if you want to move, and pull back if you want to stop. Quite simple."

"If you say so..." The redhead responded with a hint of doubt.

"Hey! Sleeping Beauty! Think you can beat me in a race?" Noctis called, a smirk playing on his lips.

Dawn called back to him, head shaking. "Gonna' have to, now that you guys have a bad habit of calling me that dumb nickname!"

Remembering what the brunette told her, she lightly tapped the sides of the yellow bird, willing it to move forward. The Chocobo instantly responded to her command, dashing forward at an alarming rate. The fiery woman yelped in surprise as she nearly fell off the anxious bird, her hands clasped tightly on the rope.

Noctis could only laugh at the failed attempt at being tough. "Not like **that** , you will!"

As Dawn's Chocobo ran around the area, the redhead continuously yelping and gasping along the way, Prompto approached the dark-haired Prince. "Ya' know...don't you think we should let Iggy race her instead?" He whispered.

"Uh...why's that?" Said Noctis, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"You know how broken up Ignis was when Dawn left. I think it would make him happy if he had his little moment with her, if you ask me."

"Which I didn't."

The blonde chuckled. "Come on, man! I'm serious! If there's an expert on this kind of stuff, it's yours truly. I mean, just look at him! He's smiled more times than I can count ever since she appeared again."

Noctis looked at said friend, thinking about the past few days. Now that he mentioned it...Specs did seem a little down in the dumps after Dawn left the group like she did. Maybe Prompto was right.

"Well, okay...if it would make him happy."

Prompto couldn't help but give his signature grin. "I'm sure of it."

Dawn had finally managed to stop her Chocobo for a minute as the Prince approached her. "You know what, how about you race Specs?"

The woman started sweating even more at the mere mention of him. Did they see them together after all?

"Why?" She said as calmly as possible, sweat beading her forehead.

"We'd totally cream you if you raced us. Iggy though...you _juuuust_ might have a chance." Said Prompto.

Their cook appeared right at that moment, not missing a beat. "Excuse me, are you saying I am a poor rider?" He said.

"Nah, nah...but Dawn is a noob right now, and well...you seem fit for the bill, buddy."

"How do you conclude-"

"It's no use, Ignis. They'll keep pestering us until we race. Might as well." The redhead stopped him, sighing in defeat.

In actuallity, she wasn't opposed to the idea at all. If she were to choose anyone to race, it **would** be Ignis.

The brunette looked at her for a second, about to protest, but quickly decided against it. "I suppose you are correct."

With that, the duo made their way to the track, which was further up the path. After making the necessary arrangements, they were ready to face off.

Everyone else was on the sidelines, even Gladio, anxious to see the duo. The Prince and the blonde spoke to each other in hushed whispers as they waited for the race to begin.

"Say, Noct...20 gil says that Iggy will tell her how he feels tonight."

Noctis stared at Prompto for a moment. "How he feels? What are you talking about?"

"Dude, seriously? You can't really be that oblivious."

"Sorry that I'm not as observant as you are, Chocobo Butt."

The smaller man pouted for a second. "I told you my hair isn't-ugh...the point is, they are obviously digging each other, and I'm betting it'll be Iggy to step up first. Catch my drift now?"

"You mean...they like each other?"

"That's what I'm saying! And frankly, I think they're pretty cute together." He sighed dreamily, thinking about a specific female mechanist.

The Prince tried to imagine Ignis actually involved with someone romantically rather than platonically. In all honesty, it was extremely tough, considering Ignis had always been so serious and focused with his work. He just wasn't really the type to do that kind of stuff...and Dawn? She had already pushed him back **twice** , one of those times literally. It seemed really strange for her to suddenly make a 180 and fall for someone like Ignis. Plus, she kind of gave the 'loner' vibe...like she didn't really need anyone in that way. How in the world did Prompto see this working? Then again...Noctis couldn't really say what worked and what didn't.

"I'm not so sure..." Said Noctis, crossing his arms. "But if you're right, and it does happen...then I'm happy for them."

"Yeah...surprising to hear myself say this, but...I've been thinking that Iggy needed a girlfriend."

"Don't let him hear you say that!" Laughed the Prince, smacking his friend's shoulder. Not long after that, they finally saw the said duo approach the starting line.

Dawn turned her head to look at her rival. " _I can't believe I'm actually doing this_..." She thought to herself. It was literally minutes ago that she rode on a Chocobo for the very first time, let alone going straight to racing...and of course, of all people, it was Ignis.

To her shock, the brunette looked right back at her.

" _Perhaps I should go easy on her_..." Thought Ignis to himself. " _No. That would only upset her...make her victory false. Either way_..."

Suddenly, it was time. The owner of the track walked slowly to the edge of the track, flag in hand. The crowd of people started to cheer, the sounds of wooping and whistling filling the air. This was certainly new for the redhead in perticular.

Both Dawn and Ignis faced forward, feet at the ready to push themselves to victory. Their hands tightened on the ropes, their eyes sharp and focused.

Noctis, Prompto, and even Gladiolus watched the owner of the track, waiting for the signal and for all hell to break loose as soon as the flag was waved. They cheered not only to urge on their friends, but also to cheer for Ignis's happiness. Day and night, he had worked hard for the well-being of Noctis and the boys; driving, cooking, planning, always going above and beyond for everyone else. It wasn't very often that he actually did something for **himself.**

The boys wanted their brother to be happy, to have something of his own rather than just give everything away. He certainly deserved it.

Noct chuckled to himself as a thought then crossed his mind. Maybe the four of them: Himself, Luna, Ignis, and Dawn could have a double date one day.

The cheering died a little as the flag was then thrusted towards the ground.

" **GO**!"

Maybe one day, Dawn would be considered family too.

 **I certainly enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you all do as well!**


	13. The Gate Has Been Opened

**Man, I've been slacking lately on these chapters. Woops.**

 **I'll try to work harder on getting them out sooner, it's just difficult because I work during the week, and I get tired (plus my computer being a piece of crap). :(**

 **Thank you so much to those who support my story and take the time to read it! Means the world to me.**

 **I was kind of tired while writing this chapter, so it might seem a little sloppy...hope you enjoy anyway. XD**

" **GO**!"

In a blink of an eye, Dawn and Ignis had jumped from the starting line, creating more and more distance from the crowd which each passing second. Dawn had felt the rush of adrenaline as she went; the cheering and anticipation made her heart beat five times faster than normal. Already she felt somewhat lightheaded.

To her dismay, Ignis was already ahead of her. Not by much, but enough to cause concern.

He wasn't going to hold back, and she prefered it that way.

" _Hiya_!" Dawn again tapped her feet on the sides of her bird, urging it to catch up to her rival. The Chocobo responded to her command, taking slightly wider steps as it struggled to gain more speed.

They succeeded after a few precious seconds, now side by side with the other racer. At the moment, all that Dawn could hear was the Chocobo's feet hitting the ground and the whistling wind rushing in her ears. She briefly looked over at the brunette, seeing his sharp and focused face.

"I won't let ya' win, Iggy! Count on it!" She shouted to him with a devilish grin as they ran at the same pace.

Ignis took a second to return the look, a grin also appearing on his face. "I shall count...as in, count the minutes it will take for you to catch up!" With that, he tapped on his Chocobo, gaining the lead once again.

"Sneaky little-"

Noctis and Prompto were either making themselves out to be the best riders around, or they were lying about Ignis's skill with a Chocobo; he was no joke when it came to racing. However, Dawn wasn't going to give up so easily...beginner's luck is certainly a thing that exists.

She decided to wait it out for a while, let the brunette's bird get tired, and then steal the show by pushing for a strong finish. Her bird certainly wasn't going to last long if she kept pushing it like this.

Clammy hands relaxed on the rope a little as the Chocobo kept a steady pace down the track. Ignis was now about 10 feet ahead of her. Did he give his bird some sort of coffee or something while no one was looking? This level of stamina and speed **couldn't** be normal.

Panic started to surface as the brown, spiky hair went around the corner and got further and further away. Maybe waiting it out would make her fall too far behind. Of course, she only learned how to ride mere minutes ago, but she still wanted to give the boys a run for their money. She wanted to prove that being a beginner didn't mean that losing was a certain fact.

In all honesty, she sort of expected for Ignis to go easy on her, being the gentleman that he is. It would have been easier just to let her win and have the glory, but she was glad that he did otherwise. If she really were to win against him, it needed to be real.

Even if she did lose, it would be perfectly fine. She was having a lot of fun, which was something she enjoyed so much. Stuff like this was one of the things she would miss the most...

The redhead's grin slowly disappeared as the thought crept in her mind once more; never again would she race Ignis and joke around with the boys... **this** was it. _Stupid vision..._

"Giving up, are you?"

A familiar voice broke into her thoughts, instantly bringing her back. "You kidding? Never!" She responded as the Chocobo was urged on again.

Only this time, the bird was pushed a little too far.

As they began turning on the corner, the Chocobo tried to respond to Dawn's command, but ended up going too fast, resulting in the yellow bird tripping on itself and losing its balance. It was just as the redhead feared.

The fiery woman's yell filled the air as she plummeted to the rocky dirt along with her companion. Her grip on the rope was now completely gone, replaced by nothing but emptiness.

Ignis, realizing what was happening, skidded to a halt. " **DAWN**!" He called after her.

The last thing Dawn remembered was seeing the ground meet with her face; the feeling of a heavy weight being thrown into her side enveloping her.

It felt like hours before anything came into view again. The redhead groaned as her body ached, a figure in front of her suddenly becoming more and more clear: a face.

"Uuughhh..." Was all she managed to say at the moment.

The figure moved a little, now aware of her waking. "Dawn...are you alright?" It said.

As vision became more clear, she recognized who it was immediately. "I-Ignis?" She groaned.

"Yes, it's me. You fell off your Chocobo...are you hurt?" His face was now fully visable, hovering above hers.

Dawn's cheeks involunarily turned the color of her hair; Ignis was only a few inches away from her.

"U-um...I...uh..." She stuttered. "I'm okay, I think..." Her temperature went up about 30 degrees, her cheeks were beet red, and now stuttering was in the equation. She was absolutely **not** okay.

The brunette looked to the side for a second, giving Dawn a moment of relief. "Luckily, the Chocobo fled not long after it fell...you shouldn't have any serious injuries."

"Yeah...I'm just aching a lot, that's all."

Ignis turned back to her. "Are you certain? Can you move?"

"Well...uh...not really." In truth, her body was still in shock, preventing any sort of major movement at the time.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back to the post." Gently, he slid his hand underneath the woman, lifting her torso up from the ground. It was then that she noticed that both Chocobos were gone.

Ignoring the need to jump at his touch, she mentioned towards the finish line. "What about the race? You would have won by now."

The brunette stopped, only succeeding in making the woman sit up. His hand rested on her back as he spoke. "I don't care about the race,"

Then, his cheeks also went slightly pink. "I care about **you**."

Dawn stared at Ignis. Her mind sat there, processing what he just said to her, along with what exactly was happening at the time. The words kept disappearing as soon as they got to her mouth...how in the hell was she suppose to respond to that?

Emotions began stirring in the woman's heart, even worse than before. However, one emotion stuck out from all the rest: Happiness.

Maybe Ignis really did feel the same way she did...missing her, wanting to protect her...caring about her. These emotions had to be pushed down because of the vision, but now...they were too strong to contain. Dawn was on the brink, and she just couldn't hold it back anymore. Hearing those words from him meant the world to her, and it brought her a happiness she had never known before.

Finally, after days and days of torture from locking away her heart, she had given in. The gate was now unlocked, and her feelings ran free.

Everything came together at that point into one final conclusion: asking him to stay, crying upon the thought of never seeing him again, leaving in order to protect him, getting warm and nervous every time he gets within a foot of her...it was pretty clear at this point exactly how she felt about Ignis.

She gave him a warm smile and a small chuckle. "You wanna know something, Iggy?" She said.

The brunette tilted his head a little in confusion. "Hm?"

Gathering up her strength, Dawn put her hand on his shoulder gently.

"...I care about you, too."

Ignis's cheeks now flared up to a red as he stared back into her eyes.

They just sat there for what seemed like an hour, looking at each other. Neither one knew exactly what to say to the other, words becoming scarce.

Then suddenly, a tear rolled down Dawn's cheek as her caring smile slowly faded away. The feelings that were kept inside her heart for a while were now rushing in full force, including the ones of sorrow over the need to leave. Now that she realized her feelings for Ignis, it hurt around ten times worse. This was something she had been wanting for so long, the one thing that had kept her going all these years was the hope of finding something like this...the reason she was alive.

But she **couldn't** have it.

Things were now dangerously close to the vision. Ignis's death could be any second now...and it was all because of **her**.

If she hadn't decided to go with him, this would never have happened. She was the one who decided to push her luck, being so weak as to keep giving into what she wanted. If she didn't accept the race with him, then maybe she would have never discovered her true feelings...and the pain wouldn't be so great.

She was weak...no matter how determined she was at making sure the vision didn't come true, it was still happening. Maybe...maybe Zafirah was right. The vision **was** going to come true, one way or another...and Dawn was powerless to stop it.

The one she cared for so much was going to die...and it was all her fault.

The brunette gave a small gasp as he saw the tear roll down her face. "...what's wrong?" He said with gentle concern.

It was no use. Dawn at that moment just...fell apart. This nearly happened a few times now, wanting to just collapse and let everything out. Now it was actually happening; She started to sob openly.

"I-Ignis...I'm...I'm so sorry." She said in slight quivers, the tears now gushing out of her eyes as if a dam had been opened up.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and worry. "About what? You've done nothing wrong..."

"Y-yes I...have. I-I've ruined your...life."

Suddenly, his hand met with her now wet cheek, his thumb gently brushing away a tear. "Don't say that...you haven't ruined my life at all. Please...don't cry."

His voice was so soothing...like it was the only thing she wanted to hear at the moment.

"You caring about me makes me feel like I can do anything." He said. "You could never ruin my life, Dawn...you only make it brighter."

The crying redhead looked up to meet his gaze, his hand still on her cheek. "B-but-" She started.

"Look at me. There is **nothing** you can do to make me feel any different. I promise."

The shock from being crushed by the bird was nearly gone now, her body now having a little more control. Her hand met with his, fingers slightly grabbing hold. The brunette still stared at her, only now with more of a caring expression.

"That makes me...so happy. I...I'm trying so hard...to make your life better. But I...I feel like I make it...worse." She gripped his hand slightly tighter.

Ignis smiled a warm smile. "You don't have to try so hard. You only need to be with me. That is enough." His smile slowly turned back into a frown. "But...I know you don't want to be with me. You're going to leave again, aren't you?"

Dawn slightly shifted uncomfortably. "Ignis...I **want** to stay, but..." She also frowned. "...I **can't**."

"Why not? Are you saying there is a way back to your home planet?"

"No, there isn't..."

"Then why?"

"I...there's..." She tried to explain without exposing all of the details, but the words just wouldn't come. How could she explain?

The brunette's hand left her cheek, causing it to feel cold. "I want the truth. **All** of it. There's still things you aren't telling me, and I'd like to know." He sighed. "Please. You can trust me."

The redhead closed her eyes. She was planning to have this kind of talk after showing him her powers... "Iggy, I'll explain everything a little later, okay? At nightfall."

Iggy's face crinkled up slightly, clearly wondering why it needed to be later. After a minute, he nodded. "Very well. For now...we should return to the post. Everyone must be wondering where we are." He slid his free hand behind the redhead's knees. "I'll carry you there."

"W-what? why?" She said in surprise, feeling the warmth return to her face.

"You need to rest. Moving will only make things worse."

Of course, Dawn didn't really object at all. Being close to Ignis like this was one of the best things in the world. She moved her hand further across his back, reaching the bottom of his neck. "Well...alright." She said quietly.

The brunette grunted as he lifted both himself and the woman in his arms, though it seemed he didn't have much difficulty carrying her. He was pretty damn strong for looking so skinny. He gave a small scoff as he felt her fingers play with the hair on his neck.

"You're enjoying this." He said.

Dawn sniffled, having stopped crying a little while ago. Her overwhelming sorrow had finally passed, and she felt back to normal once more. Well...mostly.

"What can I say?" She said in a playful tone. "It's not everyday that a handsome man carries you around."

"Handsome? My, you certainly **are** trying to flatter me." He laughed. "Fine, fine. I'll whip up something special for you tonight, how about that?"

The fiery woman didn't even realize how sleepy she already felt. Crying a lot, getting crushed by a large bird, and being in the arms of the man you cared deeply for takes a lot out of you.

"I'd like that." She responded after a moment.

They were about halfway to where they started when Dawn's eyelids began to feel heavy. The whole senario was so relaxing, despite the raging river of emotions she still had inside. She cuddled up to the warmth and touch, never wanting to leave. The amazing scent of the man carrying her overpowered the air.

Without even knowing it, her fiery red head slowly fell against Ignis's shoulder, her eyelids weighing about a thousand pounds. This was the kind of rest she needed for a while: Completely calm and at peace with the current moment, close to him.

The team's advisor only glanced at her for a few seconds, unfazed by the unfamiliar touch.

He grinned a little, his world getting brighter and brighter as he felt her there. Sure, his brothers brought him kinship, but Dawn brought something else...something **special**. A thing he's never experienced before. Nothing has really distracted him from his duty or made him so unfocused like this...

He thought back to what she had said not too long ago:

" _I care about you, too_."

He wondered what exactly she meant by that. The way he meant those words could be different from the way she meant them completely. Maybe this was all one big misunderstanding...again.

Little did he know, however, that she meant those words strongly.

She was in love with him.

 **We finally see some sparks fly. Ooooooohhhh! XD**

 **Again, kind of sloppy, but still okay, I think. Can't wait to write what's next.**


	14. A Sweet Gift

**Darn it, late on the update again! Oh well...at least it's here now.**

 **I was at my friend's house for the weekend, so writing was pretty slow.**

 **Have to say though, I'm really enjoying writing this. The romance and drama just gets to me. XD**

 **Thank you to all of my supporters, as always!**

 **Also, swearing and slight...suggestion? XD Hope you enjoy!**

To his surprise, Ignis noticed just how late it was getting.

Orange light started to seep through the trees, casting long shadows across the racetrack. Only this time, he didn't feel like a part of the shadows.

The woman in his arms could drive away any darkness, no matter when or how; all she had to do was just **be** there. However, despite it being so easy, she was leaving anyway...and he couldn't understand why for the life of him.

Nothing really made sense about it: there was no way back home to where she came from, and she wanted to stay...but something was keeping her from doing so. What that thing is **must** be important.

Hopefully, everything would be made clear tonight.

Ignis couldn't help but smile upon hearing the headhead's quiet, steady breathing. She had already fell asleep upon his shoulder, most likely wiped from having to travel on her own for the past few days.

He was certain that Dawn was gone forever after she had turned her back on him. yet here she was...right in his own arms. Whether it was fate or just dumb luck, he was grateful to be next to her once more, even if for only a day. There was still some things they needed to say to one another...and Ignis woudn't feel at peace until those things were said.

As he approached the starting line, a pang of worry suddenly hit him: What exactly would his brothers think, seeing Dawn all cuddled up and sleeping in his arms? He dreaded the comments and teasing already...a headache waiting to happen.

He would just have to deal with it. He wasn't about to let Dawn go...not yet.

The familiar vivid blonde hair came rushing towards them upon noticing their arrival, his high-pitched voice breaking the calming atmosphere. "Heeey! **There** you are! Man...we were so worried about you guys!" Yelled Prompto.

The Prince was behind him, wearing a look of concern. "What happened? Are you guys okay?"

"We're both alright." Ignis responded, a little quieter than normal to keep from waking Dawn. "Miss Spectrum fell off of her Chocobo, the creature falling on her in the process..."

Prompto gasped. "...Is she really okay? Chocobos are pretty heavy, you know..." He looked at the sleeping redhead.

The brunette nodded. "I am certain. It retreated soon after falling, so she seems to have avoided any serious injury."

"Whew...that's good at least."

"So...she's just sleeping?" Said Noctis, having caught up with his blonde friend.

"Yes. Poor thing is absolutely bushed." Ignis walked past them, towards the shiny Regalia. "It would be best to let her rest for a while."

Both Noctis and Prompto looked at each other for a brief second, and nodded.

"Yeah. Sure." Said the dark-haired Prince.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached the group, wide and heavy. Everyone, even Ignis, was shocked to see who it was.

"What happened?" The deeper, gruff voice reaching everyone's ears.

"U-um...Dawn...fell off of her Chocobo. She's resting now." Prompto responded.

Gladiolus crossed his huge arms, eyebrows furrowed. "I see. Hope she's okay."

Hearing Gladio's concern was even more shocking to the rest of the group. After attacking her and seemingly turning his back, he was worried about Dawn?

Noctis was first to speak about it. "So much for her being a fraud, huh?" He said.

"Don't get me wrong, I still don't really trust her. But that doesn't mean she deserves to die."

The blonde smirked at him. "Aw, I knew you'd come around, big guy!" He said, also giving him a small punch in the arm.

"Tch. What did I just say?" Gladio somewhat rolled his eyes at the younger man, knowing full well that there would be a misunderstanding.

Ignis rejoined the group, his arms now empty. "I suggest we find the Chocobos before there's trouble. However, someone needs to keep an eye on her. There's no telling what the Empire would do if they found her in our car, alone."

As if on cue, all three men looked at each other, then back at the advisor. It almost seemed scripted.

"What? Did I say something?" The brunette looked back at them in confusion.

Prompto put a hand on his shoulder. "Um, we all know that's gonna' be **you** , Iggy." He said, grinning.

Ignis's face turned slightly red. "And how do you make that assumption?"

"Oh! Uhhh...just a hunch!" The blonde responded in a panic, suddenly sprinting the other direction. "Have fun!" He laughed as he got further away from the group.

"We'll be back later. Don't do anything **too** crazy, Specs." Noctis followed suit, winking at his brother before running to catch up with his retreating friend.

Gladiolus just gave a small, quick wave of the hand. "See ya'." He said.

With that, Ignis was left alone with the redhead, wondering what had just occured in the last few moments. However, he really didn't mind.

Not one bit.

Sighing, he returned to the ever-familiar front seat of the Regalia, next to where he had set down the resting woman. She sat comfortably in the passanger's seat, still in the exact position he had left her in.

Ignis had seen Dawn retire to her own tent on the nights she was with them, but he had never actually **seen** her asleep. Honestly, he felt like a creep, watching the redhead like that...be he couldn't help it. She looked to peaceful, like nothing could wake her.

He noticed her shiver as a cool breeze flowed by, slight goosebumps appearing on her pale skin. Being in his arms for a while must have gotten her used to the body heat...making her cold with the absence of it.

The brunette walked towards the back of the car, opening the trunk. There must be something in here he could use...

After a minute of searching through the mess that was the Regalia's trunk, he finally returned to the driver's seat with a blanket in tow. Nothing too fancy, but it certainly did its job well.

Dawn only moved slightly as Ignis entered the vehicle, settling down next to her.

"Here you are." He whispered, though he wasn't quite sure why he did. She couldn't even hear him right now.

He gently veiled the blanket onto her body, making sure there would be no need to fumble with it afterwards.

The redhead's face soon relaxed again, no longer chilled by the bothersome wind. Her hands slightly gripped the new source of warmth, pulling it closer.

He silently wondered if she was dreaming. From the looks of it, she either wasn't or was having a good dream. Hopefully it was the latter of the two.

Maybe she could be dreaming about him...like he has done with her. There have been a few nights where he actually dreamed about Dawn one way or another; whether it was a nightmare or a good dream.

Tonight would probably be the dealbreaker; once he knew the whole truth, he would then decide to either ask her to stay...or let her go. He really wanted Dawn to go with him and his friends, since she had nowhere else to stay. That, and another reason...

If she absolutely desired to leave, however...he wouldn't stop her. The whole decision was hers alone. All he was really asking for was the truth.

The brunette studied her face for a moment. In actuality, she was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on, fairy or not.

The color of her hair was the most vivid red he had ever seen, her deep, forest green eyes complimenting it perfectly...a look befitting a supernatural fairy.

The whole fairy thing didn't bother him either somehow. She was an alien, yet she was just like every other person here. In fact, it didn't matter if she was an alien, a bug, an animal, or anything of the sort...Dawn was still Dawn.

And that was all that mattered to him.

Suddenly, Ignis did something so out of character that he might as well consider himself another person entirely.

Still looking at the redhead, he slowly leaned in, his face getting closer and closer to hers. A strong heat was radiating off of her skin, which was something weird he noticed lately. Every time he touched her, it was like standing next to a fire. Fire...a lot like her spirit.

The brunette closed his eyes as he felt his lips connect with the woman's smooth, pale cheek. His heart started beating faster.

He sat there, kissing Dawn's cheek for a few fleeting moments before finally breaking contact. His eyes now opened again, now looking at the spot he dared to touch with his mouth.

Still in some sort of trance, he whispered to her again. "Sweet dreams, Dawn." He said.

As he pulled away, back into his own space, he suddenly saw a reaction from the fairy. For a second, he was afriad he had woken her up, but was soon relieved as he realized what she was actually doing.

Dawn was **smiling**.

Although the reaction was positive, Ignis couldn't really believe what he just did.

Did he seriously just **kiss** Dawn? In her sleep?

He pushed up his glasses with a gloved hand, sighing once more. He wasn't quite sure what had gotten into him...the redhead would be furious if she knew.

Then again...she was smiling...maybe she actually likes it?

Either way...Ignis felt like an idiot.

A couple hours passed before Dawn finally awoke from her slumber. Deep green eyes at first took their time to open, but soon picked up the pace as the redhead realized what just happened.

Somehow, she had passed out in Ignis's arms...without even knowing it.

Her surroundings also became clear as her mind registered more and more; she had ended up back in the Regalia.

" _Did he being me here_?" She thought to herself. " _And...with this...blanket_?"

Pale hands explored the fabric, feeling its soft texture. She knew full well that the brunette was considerate and gentleman-ly, but this act of kindness seemed...different. More than just mere manners.

Dawn nearly facepalmed herself after realizing something else. " _The others must have seen me asleep like that...great, more Sleeping Beauty jokes for me._.."

"Miss Spectrum, I see you are awake." That smooth, accented voice interuppted her thoughts.

The woman yelped as Ignis was suddenly standing next to the car, with some sort of object resting in his hands.

" **GAH**! Goodness, Iggy...you scared the shit outta' me." Replied Dawn with slight embarrassment.

"Apologies. How was your nap?"

"Oh, um...it was nice. But...where is everyone else?" She said, scanning the surrounding area for any sign of the other boys.

"They went to find our missing Chocobos. I had stayed behind to watch over you." Replied the brunette as he entered the driver's seat, next to her.

Dawn's eyebrows furrowed. "I should be the one looking for them...it was **my** fault they ran away."

The team's advisor shook his head in response. "Nonsense. You were the one hurt. Besides...it was an accident."

"I guess..."

She felt something touch her hand.

"Here. Maybe this will lift your spirits?"

Dawn grabbed the object, now actually noticing what it was. "Some sort of...cake?" It was some sort of dessert-looking object on a small circular plate. The food, too, was circular, and had the spongy look that a cake did.

"Correct. It's carrot cake, made with the ingredients we recently picked up. I thought you would appreciate the sweet yet, how should I describe...'earthy' flavor."

The woman inspected the dessert, seeing the indeed slight orange hue that matched the color of a carrot. "Huh...interesting. What's the occasion?"

Ignis grinned, remembering where it originated. "I promised to make you something special tonight, didn't I?"

Dawn's eyes widened as she suddenly recalled the moment as well. "That's right...you did! Right after I...uh..." She stuttered in embarrassment over doing such a childish and idiotic thing while being half-asleep.

"Well, congratulations. You have succesfully flattered me enough to do your bidding." He laughed, pulling out a fork from his jacket. "You must feel powerful now, Miss Spectrum."

Feeling less embarrassed upon seeing him so lighthearted about it, the redhead laughed along. "Heh, maybe I do. You may seem all tough and levelheaded, but I know you're just a big ol' teddy bear on the inside, Iggy."

She took the silverware from her companion, their hands touching for a moment. Despite it lasting for only a second, it sent sparks through her system. The fork cut out a sliver of the cake, more of the orange color showing.

It seemed really strange how carrots could be made into a sweet dessert. They weren't sweet at all, and came from the ground...the woman made one last inspection before putting the sliver of the cake into her mouth.

"Well?" Asked Ignis, watching her taste his creation he worked hard to make.

It was amazing. It wasn't the usual sickly sweetness that a cake normally had...it was just right. The 'earthy' flavor that he mentioned went with the sweet flavor in complete harmony. Not too much, not too little.

"Woah...that's some awesome cake, Ignis." She replied after swallowing the bite. "I really don't get how you do this so damn well."

"I suppose it comes naturally to me." The brunette chuckled. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"You seriously need to make this again."

"I shall remember that." He said, taking out his personal notebook and jotting down a few notes. "I will make as much as you desire."

Dawn smiled mid-bite, enjoying the cake, kindness, and the company. She was glad it was Ignis who stayed behind with her instead of any of the other boys. Not that she didn't like their company as well, but...you know.

Speaking of the boys, they suddenly came into view as Dawn was finishing her gift. The brunette exited the car, meeting them halfway.

"How did it go?" He asked, back to his serious self.

"Got em' back to the guy in one piece." Said Noctis, who was leading the group. "Just in time, too."

Prompto spoke immediately after the Prince. "Yeah! Now that's some people cleared out, it's time for the show!" He looked past their cook, gazing at the fiery woman sitting in the Regalia. "Well, I mean...if Dawn is up for it."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I guess now is as good a time as any." She replied, setting down her now empty plate and fork, exiting the car with the blanket draped over the seat.

"Are you certain?" Said Ignis, turning to look at her.

"Yes. It's about time you guys knew the truth."

The fairy went the other direction, towards the area that the brunette had pointed out earlier that day. It didn't seem like anyone else was around.

The boys shrugged and followed her into the patches of foliage, out into the small clearing that was surrounded by trees and bushes.

Dawn stood at the center nervously, her hands starting to sweat. This was the make or break moment they had all been waiting for. This would prove to them that she was from another world, as well as the reasoning for her absence. This would either save her friendship with Gladio, or destroy it altogether.

There was no telling how they would react...how Ignis would react. Letting him on like this was pretty cruel...they seemed to be having something together, but now all of a sudden she had to throw it all away.

All over some stupid vision that might not even exist.

Hopefully he would understand...she just couldn't take the risk; his life was more important.

Maybe...in some other life...they could be together.

Dawn faced the men, now standing and watching her a few feet away. They looked at her in curiosity and wonder as she lifted her arms into the night air.

Her eyes met with Ignis's.

" _Here goes nothing_..." She thought.

The fire burst out of her hands, the flames circling her arms.

 **Oh boy, here we go. Moment of truth...sort of. XD**


	15. Not of This World

**Jeez, this one took a while. I couldn't quite figure out how I wanted it to go, but I managed to get it work somehow. XD I swear, I'm not trying to take this long. ;-;**

 **I was working on this a few days ago, but then I had to work, then I got back on it, and then it was 4 a.m., so I had to stop XD and now it's finally done.**

 **We're getting in some pretty juicy parts now. Hope you guys enjoy this!**

 **Thank you for all the support and love!**

 **I actually don't think there's any swearing this time. Shocker. XD**

The boys took a surprised step back, their eyes squinting at the sudden light.

Dawn stood there for a minute, not really sure what to do next. Her gaze wandered over to a nearby log to her right, one that seemed perfect for burning without setting fire to the whole forest.

She shifted her body towards the log. Her fiery hands drew closer together, the magic from both sources fusing together to create a more powerful burst.

The men before her watched as a fireball the size of a head was thrown at the target, a hearty explosion enveloping the fallen tree and surrounding shrubbery. The log gave a crackle as the brown shell caved in, creating a pile of ash.

This wasn't a spell at all. Nothing was mixed; no medium of any kind, no sort of essence from anywhere...the magic was **completely** from within. Everyone knew full well that the woman wasn't connected to Lucian royalty, meaning that this was no elemancy.

Of course, it was little to no surprise on Ignis's part. He eventually believed that Dawn was telling the truth about being a fairy while they were apart; this was just proving his faith correct. He had also sensed some sort of power within her after spending time together for a while...he just wasn't exactly sure what **kind** of power.

For the other boys, this was a shock. They knew their advisor had good instincts, but they didn't really expect something like this. The way Dawn just conjured up the fire and struck the log really **was** supernatural.

However...Gladiolus wasn't as impressed or shocked. He took a small step forward, his face crinkled in a frown. "What does this prove? How do we know this isn't some sort of trick?"

His friends gave him a questioning look, along with one or two rolling their eyes upon the tall man's distrust. He possibly felt like he had to prove somehow that his instincts were correct as well, trying to get the other men to take him a little more seriously with his opinions.

Dawn looked back at her lost friend with conviction. She expected Gladio to at least say something of disapproval. "It's suppose to prove that I'm a fairy. Can't you see that?"

His eyebrows furrowed a little more as he gave a small ' _humph_ '.

She sighed. "Alright then...how about **this**?"

At that moment, she felt something within her heart: some sort of force, a drive to prove herself. Even though she accepted the fact that Gladio might never come around, she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Prompto spoke up, only to be ignored. "Comon', man...don't be like that. Dawn, you don't need to-"

It was already too late. The woman was already preparing for the next display of power.

She knelt down, arms slowly closing in around her body. The sudden drive to prove had struck a match, feeding the fire inside. She felt it growing more and more with each passing second; this would show that man a thing or two.

Eventually, the sound around her had died down, leaving only her calm and relaxed breathing. Dawn called to the fire flowing in her veins, encouraging it to gather and build up. Muscles started to feel warmer as the process went on.

The flames had finally gathered to the center of her body, ready to be unleashed. It didn't have all of the power that she possessed, but it could still pack a punch if it were directed at someone.

Just when it felt like her skin would overheat, Dawn then quickly shot back up, her arms thrusting out into the emptiness.

This was similar to what Zafirah did back home, only more powerful. A big ring of fire burst out from the fairy's body; her audience covered their faces from the wave of heat. Thankfully, the dangerous part of the ring went over them instead of hitting them.

The flames hit the circle of trees around them, nearly setting fire to the green leaves that decorated them. What was left was a deep black line where the fire had met wood; perhaps the trees would look that way forever, a clear reminder of how deadly a fairy could truly be.

After the blast had faded, the men opened their eyes to witness the result.

Dawn stood there for a moment, pleased of her achievement. There was no way he could deny her abilities now.

Gladiolus examined his surroundings, eyeing the scars that were now etched into the landscape. His mouth slightly opened the more he saw. It seemed like he was finally starting to change his mind.

"Now do you understand?" Said Dawn. "I am not of this world."

The tall man looked back at her, face growing less and less hostile. He closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. "I guess...maybe Iggy was right."

The other men visibly relaxed upon hearing their brother yield. Especially Prompto, the one who hated his friends fighting each other the most.

Gladio spoke again after a minute. "...Sorry, Dawn. My bad."

The fiery woman couldn't help but grin a little. She was relieved and happy to have her friend back, no longer on awkward and hostile ground.

"It's alright, Gladio. I understand you were angry about me lying...but...I'm glad you believe me now. Same with everyone else."

"I'll admit, it was tough, but we know for sure now that you're somethin' else!" Said Prompto, grinning again like always. "That thing you did was sooo **cool**."

Dawn gave a small chuckle. "Glad you think so. Took quite a bit of focus on my part."

It was then Ignis's turn to speak. "So you control the element of fire, essentially?" He asked.

"Yeah. I was born into what's called the Fire Tribe. We're fairies who all control fire."

"I must say, this is all rather interesting. I've never heard of fairies actually existing outside of children's fairytales."

"That's because visiting your planet is forbidden. They all think humans are destructive and poisonous. At least...that's what the books said."

"If visiting here isn't allowed, then how did you get here?" Asked Noctis, his hand resting on his hip.

Now came the hard part. Everything was going to be explained to them, and whatever happened would happen. At least her friendship with Gladiolus was repaired, which was very worrisome at first.

The woman's eyes drifted to the ground below. "You guys...might wanna' sit for this." She said.

They looked at her in slight confusion, but complied. The group went back to the heart of the post, getting comfortable at one of the many tables that littered the area. The moonlight bathed them with its bright light.

Dawn sat closest to the area of which they came from, while the boys sat across from her, eager to hear the important thing she had to say.

" _Okay...deep breaths_." She thought to herself. In truth, she was a little nervous. "Alright...so you asked me how I got here right?" She said to them.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Well...it's actually because of my mother, the last Chief of the Fire Tribe. She's the one who brought me here...by teleporting me."

Eyes grew wide at the last sentence.

"Woah...that's...actually possible? Teleporting from world to world?" Said Prompto in awe.

"Yeah. I was shocked too, at first...but here I am. My mother has absurd amounts of power, hence her title as Chief. But, she's not Chief anymore."

"What happened?"

"Okay, so, my mother left without a trace when I was young. Young enough to not remember her. As far as I know...I don't have any other living relatives, so I've been alone for most of my life."

Ignis visibly reacted to her words. He remembered the talks they had about her being alone and shunned by her own people.

The redhead continued. "Then suddenly, after years and years, she shows up at my house, saying a bunch of crap and then using a ton of her energy to transport me here. That was the same day I had met you four...in fact, mere hours before you had found me. That's how I arrived here in Eos."

As the boys processed the information, the brunette spoke, eager to learn more. "What did your mother say to you?" He said.

"She said..." Dawn paused, thinking about how to proceed. It was time to reveal the sickening truth of the vision. "She said that the vision will come true, one way or another...that there was no escaping it."

"The vision?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes...you see, tradition in our tribe is that the firstborn of the Chief gets their fortune told...a 'vision' of the future, as told from our shaman. She was talking about the vision that the shaman saw with me when I was born."

"Perhaps that vision is what lead you here?"

"That's right. My mother, Zafirah Spectrum, brought me here to Eos to fulfill the vision. I didn't really have much say in it..."

Her heart started to beat faster, anxious to say exactly what the vision was...

"So, what was this...vision?" Said the dark-haired Prince in curiosity. They really had no idea...

The redhead took another deep breath. "The vision...the vision was horrible..." Her eyes drifted to the table. "It was said that I would rule the land of men and destroy my home... **all upon the death of someone close to me**."

They all sat there for a minute, not knowing how to respond. Sure, fortunes were never really true...but this was different. Their friend came from a land filled with magic and wondrous things...it was likely that the vision would not be taken lightly at all.

"That's why...that's why I left you guys. To prevent it from happening..."

It was then that everything made sense to Ignis. The reason why she up and left without warning, pushing him and everyone else away...why she cried and thought that she was ruining his life...

It was all to prevent this...vision of the future. To prevent anyone from dying...mainly **him**.

It **finally** all made sense.

Prompto reached out to her. "Dawn...you could have just told us, ya' know?" He said. "We're your friends."

She looked back up, at the blonde. "F-friends?"

"Totally. Right, guys?"

He turned to the others, expecting an answer.

"Sure." Said Noctis, as unenthusiastic as ever. Even so, it almost seemed like he was hiding a smile...

"Well, can't deny that Dawn is pretty badass, so...I'd say we're cool." Said Gladiolus. He crossed his arms, but more of an approving way rather than frustrated.

Finally, it was Ignis's turn. He pushed up his glasses, eyes not quite meeting Dawn's. "I agree. We all have a kinship with Dawn, no matter what has happened in the past."

He was acting a little strange again. Maybe he was...embarrassed? That seemed very out of character for someone like him.

Whatever the case, the woman smiled. They felt the same way she felt about them...yet another thing that has never happened before. She didn't even really know what having friends was like until now. It gave her a warm, comforting feeling that she couldn't quite describe.

"Thank you...my friends." Said Dawn, nearly letting the tears gather at her eyes. "I'm sorry for lying to you...I should have just told the truth."

"Aw, don't worry about it! We're all here now, and things are 'a'-okay!" Prompto said, returning to his bubbly self.

"I...I wouldn't say that, Prompto..." Replied Dawn with a frown.

"What do you mean? Why not?"

Her eyes reflected her sorrow once more. Them knowing the truth made no difference in what needed to be done.

"I still have to go. If I stay with you all, then someone will..." She paused, frown more intense.

"... **someone will die**."

The atmosphere quickly changed from heartfelt and happy to heavy and sad.

"How do you know this for certain?" Said Ignis. "Can it not be changed?"

"I've been trying to change it, but...it's not looking good. I don't want to risk any of you dying. The only solution is to stay away."

"It's not like we can't take care of ourselves." Said Gladio. "Some fortune isn't gonna' kill us."

"I'm not saying you aren't capable, what I'm saying is I don't wanna' take the risk. Please, you gotta' understand..."

The group sat in silence for what seemed like a day, contemplating the situation. Their friend wanted to protect them and keep from destroying her homeland...but who is to say that it would be now? Or them specifically? Too many things were uncertain about the entire ordeal.

Suddenly, Ignis rose up from his seat. "Apologies, but...Dawn, could I speak to you in private?"

She gave him a confused and slightly concerned look. "Um...why? Can't we talk about it here?"

"Go right ahead, Iggy. We'll be waiting at the trailer, 'kay?" Prompto said immediately.

It was really strange how all of the boys just understood and let it be, not concerned about Ignis asking for such a thing, or not being excluded from the conversation completely. Something was going on that Dawn didn't know.

Ironically, the brunette was also surprised by the sudden agreement. He was sure there would be protests, especially from the blonde, but there was none. It was almost like they were expecting this. Well...it didn't exactly matter right now.

Ignis nodded as his brothers also rose from their seats, retreating to the nearby caravan for the night. Him and the redhead were completely alone.

"So...what did you wanna' talk about, Ignis?" Said Dawn, still confused about the whole thing.

Her friend was still in standing position, with no indication of sitting back down. "Let's talk somewhere else. I don't want the others spying."

Dawn started to feel slight butterflies in her stomach, as well as slight concern. There clearly was something he didn't want the others hearing, and what it was...she had no idea. Was it bad? Did it really need to be a secret that much?

"Well...okay. If that makes you comfortable." She replied.

With that, the duo made their way back into the brush, hidden from any ears from the post. They arrived back at the clearing, where the tree's scars were.

"This should help keep away the deamons." Dawn said, gathering a small pile of dry twigs and branches, just enough to create a big enough fire at the center of the clearing. Her hand rose to face the pile of wood.

A small ' _whoosh_ ' ensued, the wood suddenly catching fire. The area then lit up just as quick.

"Impressive. You seem to be an expert in setting things on fire." Said Ignis as he took a seat next to the newly created flames.

"Heh...maybe so." Said Dawn.

The woman took her place next to Ignis, only around 2 to 3 feet away. Their faces basked in the warmth and light.

The butterflies were stronger, more intense now. What exactly was he planning? Some sort of...date by the fire? Yeah right...get real. He only wanted to talk, that's all.

The team's advisor turned to her, the spikes on his head casting small shadows. His face was incredibly focused again, his well-groomed eyebrows furrowing slightly. The bright green eyes almost turned orange, the flames reflecting off of them.

"Dawn...I have some things I need to tell you...vastly important things."

 **Aaaand, CLIFFHANGER! Dun dun duuuuun...XD**

 **I know, I'm evil. :P**

 **But really, hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	16. My Place is Here, With You

**Woo new chapter! Just in time, too. My weekend is here and I'm ready to relax. XD**

 **This chapter might seem kinda' strange or bad, but it feels good to have it written now.**

 **I might make some tweaks if I think it needs it, but for now, here ya' go. XD**

 **Thank you to all and hope you enjoy!**

 **Slight swearing.**

"Alright, well...I'm all ears." Said Dawn, still not exactly sure what to expect. The 'vastly important things' he mentioned could be anything. Good or bad, he needed to get it off his chest.

Ignis nodded. "Right...for starters..." He paused, like his next words were blocking his throat. "...Insomnia has fallen to the Empire."

The redhead quietly gasped. Their own home...mere **days** after they had left for Noctis's own wedding...

Suddenly, she was reminded of her dream not too long ago: her mother telling her to go to Insomnia if she wanted answers. Why would she want her to go there at a time like **this**?

"I'm sorry, Iggy..." Said Dawn, frowning. Who knows what he was going through right now.

"It's quite alright. You had nothing to do with it." He said. "Noct's father is dead because of the Emperor. **He** was the one who betrayed us and took down the Wall."

"He launched a sneak attack?"

"Yes. On the night of the signing, he sprung his trap, destroying Insomnia and killing the King." He pushed up his glasses. "News reports suggested that both Noctis and Lunafreya were killed, so we are taking the chance to head to Lestallum and plan our next move."

Dawn's eyes drifted to the fire. "Poor Noctis..." She said glumly. "You think the news was wrong? Luna is still alive?"

"We believe so."

"Then you guys still need to get to Altissia. Thats the only way you'll know if she really **is** alive or not."

Ignis's eyes grew slightly darker. "That brings me to the next subject..." He sighed. "You plan to leave, but to where? You said there was no way to return to your home."

The woman's heart dropped. She hated having to explain this to him, the mention of saying goodbye weighing her down.

"I don't really know...what I **do** know is that I can't come with you."

"Dawn...you can't just go out there alone. Who knows what could happen to you?"

"I understand you're concerned for me, but I'll be fine. I've lived alone for many years...I'm used to fending for myself."

"So that's the plan? Just wander the wilderness for the rest of your life, in hope that nothing will happen?"

The fiery woman quickly turned to him, frustration starting to show. "Do you have a better idea, Ignis? I know my plan seems pretty damn stupid, but it's all I have!"

The brunette noticed her sudden outburst, he could feel her fire growing stronger...it felt different from the blaze that was next to them.

"It's certainly better than just sitting around and letting you die!" She finished, nearly at yelling level.

It was silent for a few seconds, neither one daring to speak.

Dawn sighed as her hand met with her face, trying to calm herself down. Why couldn't they just accept it and move on? Why did they have to make this so difficult?

She was one to talk...she couldn't quite accept it herself, let alone **them**. The more time she spent here, the more of herself that was left behind with them. These guys were her very first friends...the only ones in her life that gave a damn.

"Sorry...it's just..." She whispered, finally calmed down somewhat. "You don't understand. Nobody does..."

Ignis didn't respond. His eyes were fixated on the fire, his face expressionless. He was listening intently.

"I think...I think my mother wants me to go to Insomnia. She told me that I would find the answers I seeked there."

That gave a reaction. "You mean...she's here?" He said.

"I guess so...if she wants me to meet her there." Her mouth turned into a frown. "She could tell me exactly why she left all those years ago...why she wants this vision to take place."

"But-"

"Don't try to stop me, Iggy. What's done is done."

Suddenly, Ignis stood up, face crinkled. His voice became more intense. " **No**! I **cannot** accept it, Dawn! I understand what you are saying...but I cannot just sit in silence any longer!"

Dawn also stood up to face him, her jaw nearly dropping at his words. "Why not? Why is it so hard to accept? I don't get how this one thing bothers you so much that you have to act this way!"

"It's too dangerous! You could be killed if you go to Insomnia!"

"I know that! I could give my life trying to find the truth...but I...I need to know. She's all I've got in terms of family...I need to know why she cast me away."

Ignis's eyes drifted to the ground, his face darkening. "It's you who doesn't understand, Dawn..." He said quietly. "I've watched you walk away once, and...I don't want to suffer that again."

"...What?"

"I agree, finding the truth of your past is important...but not at the cost of your life. I feared the last time you left was for good, but the Gods had brought you here, to me, once more. I'm not going to waste the chance that I had been given. I won't let you throw your life away, just as you are determined to keep any of us from losing ours."

"Ignis...you're right. I **don't** understand. You act so strangely and insist on staying close to me and stopping me; you're duty is to look after Noct, and yet...it seemes more like you're looking after **me** instead. Tell me...why is that?"

She stared straight into his bright eyes, never taking her focus off of him.

He slowly looked back up at her, mouth slightly open. "It's because...well..."

"Because what?"

He seemed to have a hard time saying what he wanted to say, words disappearing before they left his lips. He sighed. "Because..." It was barely noticable, but his cheeks started to turn pink.

"... **I believe I have feelings for you**."

Dawn sat still, her mind trying to absorb his words and their meanings. "W-what did you just say...?" She managed to speak, if a little quiet.

"It took some time, but I finally realized why I had been acting odd, like you stated. You are special to me...and because of this, I will do anything within my power to protect you from danger. That is why I cannot accept you venturing into Insomnia alone."

The redhead still stared at him, eyes wide. His words circled around in her mind, around and around, a whirlpool of emotions. How could this have happened? She wasn't anything special at all...what was it he saw in her?

As if that wasn't enough, his next sentence just about killed her.

"I love you, Dawn."

Those words alone made her feel faint. Her head started to spin, eyesight growing more and more weird.

Being called a friend was one thing, but hearing someone say 'I love you' for the first time was a whole different story. Her world started to change; everything just looked brighter, the darkness of the world couldn't touch her at this moment, even if she wanted it to. Her life had a different meaning; not only did her friendship with the boys give her a sense of belonging, but the love she shared with Ignis gave her a place to call **home**. There was finally something to fill the gaping hole in her heart that had been empty for so long. It felt...amazing.

Dawn felt her cheeks getting warmer as she saw the tears gathering in her eyes. "I...I don't know what to say..." Her voice started to quiver. It was too late to hold anything back now, as there was little to no point in doing so. Things had already gotten too far, too much had happened for it to just stop now.

"Except that... **I love you too, Ignis**."

Bright green eyes grew slightly wider in surprise. "Truly?" He said.

The woman nodded, teardrops falling off her face. "Yes...there's no reason to hide it now. I've had these feelings for you for a while also...but I...I didn't think you'd feel the same, or that it would be okay to tell you because of what I'm doing."

"What do you mean?"

"It seemed wrong to let you on; reveal all this to you and then up and go like it was nothing...but trust me, it isn't nothing at all."

Ignis started to smile as he approached the crying woman before him, his face becoming more and more comforting. For the first time, Dawn felt no need to jump in surprise as the brunette's arms wrapped around her fit body. He held her close, as if letting her go was the last thing he wanted.

She smiled also, small arms pulling him closer. Her tears of joy started to soak his jacket, leaving little dark spots on the black fabric. However, Ignis didn't seem to care at all.

Voice slightly muffled, she spoke again in quivers. "I don't want to leave you, or the others...it...it hurts so much. You have been here for me when no one else has, and given me the love and care that I've needed for so long..."

"You don't have to go. Stay with us, Dawn. You don't need to hurt anymore." His smooth voice was right next to her, his breath could be felt on her skin.

"But...the vision..."

"It will be alright, no one is going to die. I will see to it that it never happens."

She held him tighter, the thought of losing him or any of the boys scaring her more than anything has ever scared her before. No one knew exactly when the vision would take place...it could be five minutes from now, it could be five years from now...but one thing was certain.

None of it stopped Dawn from loving Ignis. If she had to give her life to keep him alive, then she was fully prepared to do just that.

It was strange...they had only known each other for around two weeks, and yet they already had these strong feelings for one another. Not only with Ignis, but with his friends, too. It was like she had known them for years.

She might well be falling too easily, letting her emotions take control over the slightest chance of anyone caring about her, but then again...Ignis was the same way, and he had supreme control over his emotions. Love sure is strange like that.

The lovers sat there for a few minutes, enjoying their time together. Time just fell away...hours could go by, and no one would even care. Deamons could be surrounding them at that moment and kill them both, but they would die happy.

"Ignis..." Said Dawn, breaking the calm silence.

"Hm?"

"The whole point of me leaving was to keep us from getting close, to prevent anything from happening, but...I think we've gone too far now."

The brunette backed away out of the hug, hands on her shoulders. "Yes, I think you are correct."

"So...even if I do leave...it would actually be worse at this point. Because I'll always be close to you and the others, and if I leave, I won't be around to protect you."

"...Does that mean you'll be staying, then?"

After a second, the woman smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Iggy...I'll stay."

Dawn had given up on the original plan to leave them. No matter how hard she tried, she was drawn to them, especially Ignis, like a moth to a flame. Even if she were to run in the other direction, she would just find them again on the other side of the world. These feelings just couldn't be held back or locked away. This was where she belonged, and nothing could really make her feel any different, not even the vision.

To her surprise, Ignis gave a small frown. "...I apologize. I don't mean to bring you into this circumstance unwillingly."

The woman quickly shook her head, red locks and ponytail waving back and forth. "No, no! You didn't force me into anything!"

"Nonsense. You have had this goal of yours for some time, and now I have kept you from achieving that goal. I've gotten too carried away."

It was her turn to frown. "Trust me, I'm happy that you've done the things you did. I...I **finally** feel love for the first time...and you have no idea how much that means to me."

The brunette's frown turned back into a smile upon hearing her words. He hadn't realized just how carried away he had gotten with the whole situation until now, but was relieved to see that Dawn wasn't opposed or angry about the idea.

"I'm glad. Ever since hearing of your story and life, I've had this aspiration of giving you happiness. I wanted to see you smile...not cry."

Dawn chuckled. "Well, I'd say mission accomplished."

His hand met with hers, gently carressing it in a loving way. "That is all I can ask for." He said quietly.

After a few moments in comfortable silence, he spoke again. "Shall we return to the others?"

"Sure. Probably eager for the new girlfriend to arrive." She grinned.

Ignis have her a quick look. "Girlfriend, you say?"

"Well **duh** , Iggy. Pretty sure we've gone past the 'friend zone' at this point." She said playfully, emphasizing by making air quotes with her fingers.

Her new lover laughed. "I'm inclined to agree with you, Miss Spectrum. However, I assume they are more eager to meet with the new boyfriend."

"Heh, that does make more sense, actually."

With that, the pair made their way back to the caravan after they had put out the makeshift fire.

Dawn had never felt happier in her life. She felt invincible with the boys by her side, and a newfound love in her heart. Life was good, and she basked in it at this moment in time. All of her woes and troubles seemed behind her right now, loneliness and weakness no longer having a hold on her spirit. She was... **alive**.

Halfway to their resting spot, Dawn started to jog instead of walk, getting in front of Ignis.

"See ya' there, sweetie pie!" She laughed, only turning for a second to taunt him.

"Did you seriously call me that?" He called after her, slightly picking up the pace to catch the fleeing redhead.

No matter what was in store for the future, Dawn and Ignis decided to face it together.

 **Right in my feels. ;-; My heart might explode.**

 **Happy now, Alexondria? XD I wasn't evil this time. XD**


	17. Supper With a Side of Discovery

**Can't believe it took me this long to update...sorry about that. x_x It got difficult with work, family drama, distractions, and my boyfriend's area being in tornado watch for a few hours. Ugh...that was horrible.**

 **This chapter might feel short cuz it's mainly just talking. That seems to be the pattern lately. XD**

 **Thank you to those who read and support my story! You are all in my thoughts.**

 **Slight swearing and possibly crappy writing. XD**

The new couple had reached the small, creaky caravan when they were greeted by two figures. There was no mistaking the wild blonde and unruly black heads of hair, even in the dead of night. Why were they out here? Dawn wondered.

"Hey. You guys okay?" Said Noctis, seemingly glad that the duo had arrived back safely. His face was still as blank as ever in the dark, however.

Ignis somewhat returned the attitude that he showed, trying his best not to give away anything that might reveal what happened between him and Dawn. "We're fine. Just had a little chat, that's all."

Dawn herself wasn't exactly sure why Ignis suddenly wanted to be so vague about their relationship. She was fine with whatever comments they would throw her way or anything of the sort, but he obviously felt differently. It was possible that he didn't want to distract too much from his job of looking after Noct...which was kind of disheartening, if she was being honest. On the other hand, maybe he didn't want to cause some sort of rift between them? Whatever the case, she felt the need to question him about it.

"Oh really?" Prompto mused, his face alight with mischief. "Just a chat, huh? Gonna' give us the scoop?" He crossed his arms expectantly, looking for some sort of explanation as to why his friends wanted to be alone.

She really wanted to just up and tell them outright and get it out of the way; all the hiding and mystery was killing her, but ultimatlely decided to respect the brunette's wishes. However, it was a bit concerning. Didn't he trust them wholeheartedly?

"Maybe some other time, slick." She said, returning the tone. "It's late, and we still haven't had any dinner."

The dark-haired Prince responded with a pat to his stomach. "Can't complain. Could use some dinner right about now."

"I suppose that's my cue." Said Ignis with a nod, his tone suggesting that this was nothing new. "I'll have supper made in just a moment. Care to assist me, Dawn?"

"Sure. I don't mind." She said casually.

With that, they made their way into the trailer, where the tools and equipment were waiting. But when the redhead reached the top of the steps, she noticed Prompto giving Noctis a small smack on the arm, with Noctis shrugging and handing him what looked like gil in response...

What was that all about?

Well, whatever it was, it would have to wait for now.

In the trailer, which was unoccupied by anyone but the duo at the moment, the woman approached her partner after making sure their friends weren't going to follow them in.

"So, uh...Iggy?" She said in a low voice, pale arm resting on the cold, bland countertop.

"Yes, Dawn?" He responded, though preoccupied with gathering his special spices and various ingredients for their late supper. He was hard at work, going into what Dawn liked to call his 'chef mode'.

While in this 'mode', his body seemed to go on autopilot, multiple things in their correct places, everything turned on and cooking away. He was so good at what he did that he could have conversations with people without distracting from whatever dish was being created. The redhead just had to admire his skill.

"Are we gonna' tell them about...you know..." Her face got a bit warmer. For some reason, the whole subject made her embarrassed to a certain degree. "...us?"

Her lover sat for a second, deep in thought. His gloved hands stopped exploring the cooking supplies, his 'mode' seemingly interrupted. Both his hands rested on the counter, unmoving.

"Well..." He started, matching her volume. "It might not be the best idea at the moment."

"Why do you say that? I mean...don't tell me you're ashamed of our relationship?" A pang of fear went through her system for a second, wondering why their love would need to be something to be ashamed of and hide. She hoped that it wasn't true.

He quickly shook his head. "Of course not. But with recent events, revealing it outright could cause a sort of...imbalance."

Fear was dispelled as soon as it came upon hearing his response, calming back down to a normal level. "I'm not sure I understand."

Now he turned to look at her, his face appearing a little more focused. "You told us not too long ago that there was a vision. A vision of you destroying your home by the death of someone dear to you."

"Yeah?" The mere mention of the vision always gave her some sort of response, whether it was sorrow or rage or anxiety. This time, it actually irritated her somewhat. All she wanted was to bask in the joy of her first relationship, not keep talking about the impending doom of death and destruction.

"If we were to confirm that that person is most likely me, we could lose our focus on the task at hand. We should be concerned with getting to Lestallum and planning our next move for retaking the Crystal, not my safety."

Dawn gave him a sorrowful and shocked look. In truth, she had the urge to slap him over his act of complete selflessness, but kept her cool and responded in a continued hushed voice. "Ignis! I can't believe you said that! Of course we're concerned about your safety!"

She looked through the window that was next to them for a second, making sure that the others were still outside. Gladio had just returned from somewhere, but took a seat near the other two men instead of entering the trailer.

Her hand met with Ignis's; fingers finding their way between his, interlocking their hands together. She gave a heartfelt squeeze as he stood there, processing the words. It hurt to hear that he would just throw his life away like that, not giving a single damn about himself so much so to even wanting to spread that kind of horrid thinking to everyone else. Even her.

She spoke in a gentle, somewhat hurt voice. "Please, don't say things like that...you're just as important as the Crystal. We'll get to Lestallum and everything, but no one is just gonna' forget about you. Especially me. Got it?"

She half-expected him to oppose even more, insisting that worrying over him would be pointless, but he did otherwise. "...Yes. I understand." He gave a small, warm smile and returned the hand squeeze. "Thank you, Dawn."

"Anytime. If I catch you saying shit like that again, I'll kick your ass." She joked, her mouth also rising into a smile.

"I wouldn't put that past you." He teased. Not long after, he went back to his normal, serious self. "If the time is right, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for us to tell them." He said.

"Fair enough. It would be a little weird to just drop it on them randomly...but we should at least tell them that I'm not leaving anymore."

"I agree; clearing up the confusion on that front should ease their minds for now."

Satisfied with the compromise they had made with each other, the duo resumed their cooking endeavors. They eventually finished making their meal; the whole group gathering outside to enjoy their supper in the cool, crisp night air.

"Woo! Time for you to get in my belly!" Prompto exclaimed at his plate, eagerly taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Looks pretty good." Noctis said as he sat down as well, though not nearly as fast as the blonde. "Did you make some of it, Dawn?"

Dawn had already taken her seat before any of them. "Yeah. Or at least...I tried to." The last part was slightly quieter. Even though Ignis had shown her what to do, she feared that the meal didn't quite come out right. After all, there was a difference of years worth of experience between them.

Gladio, seated next to the Prince, gave her a questioning look. "'Tried to'? You sayin' it's poisoned or something?" He said.

"Comon', give me more credit than that." The redhead grinned. "It's not like I threw in a dead rat or anything."

Prompto was already shoveling the meal into his mouth. "Muph, I coudn't care lesph ef yoo did." The others snickered over how stupid he sounded.

"I assure all of you that Miss Spectrum did a wonderful job of assisting with the preperations." Said Ignis, turning his head to look at her in a thoughtful gaze. "Perhaps she could be my full time assistant?"

"You're little cooking helper. Not a bad idea." Nodded Gladiolus.

The boys seemed to be in agreement, but Dawn shook her head. "Wait, wait...just cuz' I helped with ONE meal..." However, it was already too late.

"Sleeping Beauty and Specs...partners in cooking." Said Noctis, clearly amused by the prospect.

"Yehh! Iph'll beh phun!" Sputtered Prompto.

Maybe it was a good idea. She could learn the art of culinary over time, eventually making it so her and Iggy could switch the role of chef every so often, relieving at least some of the responsibility that he carried on his shoulders. Even better, they could have their own quality time together without it cutting into anything else, such as his job. It was the perfect set up.

Upon realizing this, the redhead finally nodded in agreement. "Actually...I think you might be right." She said. "Iggy could use the help."

"Wonderful. Then we shall start at dawn." Said the brunette, soon after noticing the pun he unintentionally pulled.

"Oh. Very funny, Ignis." Said Dawn.

"Actually, I'm serious. I want you to help me prepare breakfast."

"Really? Well...uh...okay."

With that, the group had fallen silent, each enjoying their dinner at their own pace. Dawn's fears dissipated as the boys complimented on her and Ignis's handiwork, pride beginning to take its place in her heart.

However, it was short lived. She remembered the news she had to break to the other boys, having to mention the vision yet again. Hopefully afterwards she could just forget about it for at least a little while and enjoy the time she had.

Putting down her fork, she looked up, meeting eyes with the others around her. "So...there's something I need to tell you guys." She said.

They, too, put down their forks, attention being focused on their friend.

"I've been thinking about it...the vision...and what I should do about it." Their faces drooped slightly. It seemed that they had put the vision in the back of their minds too, understandably. "I've decided that the best thing to do...is to stay with you all."

Gladiolus was the first to speak up. "I thought you said you needed to leave. You didn't wanna' take the risk."

The woman nodded. "Yes, but...I've realized that leaving will only be worse." Rosy pink started to appear on her cheeks from embarrassment over the next thing she wanted to say. "I...I will always be close to you all. If I go, I won't be able to protect you." She could feel her heart beating out of her ribcage, threatening to break free. Being this emotional and expressive about her feelings was still new to her, even with these recent...'events'. Events that involved a certain brunette.

The boys looked at each other, no one really knowing how to respond. Save for Ignis, of course.

Eventually, Prompto spoke. "And you're okay with that, Iggy?" He asked, turning towards his friend.

The brunette in question gave him a puzzeled tilt of the head. "Why ever would you ask me specifically?" He said. "She is speaking about all of us."

"Yeah, but...don't think we don't know there's somethin' goin' on between you two!" The blonde responded with a huge, devillish grin.

Instantly, both Ignis and Dawn reacted, their eyes drifting off from their friend's. The brunette pushed up his glasses with a finger while the redhead began figiting with the end of her shirt.

"W-what? What are you talking about?" Dawn said with a huff, clearly taken aback by the accusation.

"Aw, comon'! Did you really think we wouldn't notice?"

Defeated, Ignis finally gave in. No use in hiding it now, he thought. "No...I'd just hoped that the subject would remain unaddressed until the time was right." He sighed.

" **Ignis**! I thought..." The woman started, but trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"It's alright, Dawn. They have already figured it out."

Well, so much for **that**...keeping it hidden didn't last very long...or did it?

"Wait a second...you mean there really **is** something going on?" Said Noctis in surprise.

"Yes. Dawn and I..." His bright green eyes met with her deeper ones for a moment. "...we are in a relationship now."

The woman that was his lover sat silent, her cheeks threatening to match her fiery hair.

"Duuuuude!" Shouted Prompto in excitement, his hair flailing around with the movement. "I so knew it...my love radar is never wrong!"

It wasn't long until Gladio joined in. "Don't get too happy just cuz' you're right one time." He said. "Congrats, guys. I'm happy for ya'."

Noctis gave a small, but warm smile. "Yeah. I'm happy for you guys too. But...how come you didn't wanna' tell us?"

"Iggy here didn't want you guys worrying about him." Said Dawn as her face darkened slightly. "We believe he is the one mentioned in the vision...so he thought telling you guys that would distract you from the journey."

The dark haired Prince gazed at his friend with a look of sorrow, completely different from mere seconds ago. "Ignis..." He started.

"Highness, I still feel the same as I did then." His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes focused. "We are concerned with reclaiming our home and taking back your throne."

"Of course we are. But we also care about you, Specs. We aren't just gonna' let you get hurt."

"...I understand. All I ask is that you focus on our mission."

"I...okay. If that's what you want."

The brunette then felt something grab onto his hand tightly, a new source of warmth getting closer.

"We're all here for you." Said Dawn, almost to him alone.

Everything seemed good at the time: the secrets were out, the vision in an acceptable place, and the group banded together, now with Dawn as a permanent member of the team.

"I think an offical welcome is in order." Said Gladiolus. "Dawn is one of **us** now."

The other two men happily agreed. "Totally. Welcome to our awesome little group of awesomeness!" Prompto said, his smile returning.

"A fairy traveling with us does sound pretty cool." Noctis crossed his arms thoughtfully.

From that point on, the idea of hiding from the world forever was officially behind her. She would stay with Ignis and the others, protecting them from the vision at any cost. This was her life, the way she chose it to be. This...this was what she wanted all her life.

A home.

The group retired for the night, squishing into the musky caravan for sleep after their satisfying supper was eaten.

"Night, guys. And night to the happy couple!" Prompto said in a low voice as he finshed getting situated in his bed. "You're gonna' have to give me some dating advice, Iggy."

"I'm right here, you know." Replied Dawn with fake malice, also situated in her sleeping space above Ignis.

The brunette gave a small chuckle. "I doubt any of it will succeed with your ever-working mechanic."

Noctis spoke up from below Prompto. "Ouch. He's kinda' got a point, blondie."

"Hey! A man can dream, okay?" The 'blondie' replied.

"Night 'ya'll'." Gladio snickered in the dark.

With that, the group of friends (and couple) drifted off into a deep sleep. It was a long day, filled with adventure, discovery, love...and it was only going to continue from here on out. Whatever was going to be thrown at them, they would at least take it together.

Dawn was the last to fall asleep, much to her surprise and slight annoyance. She better not wake up last again.

So much had happened between arriving in Eos and now...not only finding her very first friends, but also finding love for the first time. It was like all of her dreams had come true. How could she had gotten that lucky after so many shitty years of life? Maybe good things really do happen to those who wait.

The redhead, mere seconds to falling into comfortable darkness, reached her hand below her, into her lover's bunk. After searching for a few moments, she eventually found his hand, resting on the pillow.

Her slender fingers wrapped around it, carressing it like it was the only thing she could feel. Not exactly sure if the brunette was asleep or not, she didn't squeeze too hard; just enough to keep them together.

"I love you, Ignis." She whispered, careful not to disturb anyone. There was a hope that he had heard it. In truth, it wasn't exactly clear why she said it at that moment. Possibly because thinking about her life and the way it was before coming to Eos made her think about just how much Ignis's love meant to her. He needed to know that, even if its as simple as saying "I love you" every day. She would make sure he knew.

A response was suddenly whispered back to her from below.

"I love you, Dawn." His fingers wrapped slightly tighter around hers.

A smile crept into the redhead's face right before her eyelids got too heavy. Their hands never left their positions as the night went on.

That night was the best sleep Dawn had gotten in years.

 **Aw man, writing those last few paragraphs felt awesome. I'm so happy for Dawn. ;u;**

 **Hope you all enjoyed and I will do my best to update soon!**


	18. Morning Breeze

**Wow, I didn't think I'd be returning to this story, but here I am. I've recently gotten the encouragement to continue, as I've gotten more feedback and reading the story over. Man it's been a while. XD**

 **A lot of these chapters are most likely going to be a bit more fluff than big important events happening, though it will flesh out the story more and give shape to some of the concepts.**

 **Sorry that this story was put on hold for a long time, I'm hoping to pick it back up again and continue for all of you. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding!**

 **Slight swearing, not a whole lot.**

" _Find me. Know the truth_."

Some sort of whisper in the darkness...who was talking?

" _Insomnia...find the answers_."

It was getting louder...it sounded like it was right behind her, ready to jump at any moment. Slight fear began to surface. For some reason, the voice was familiar...a relic lost to the ages, it felt like.

" _ **Dawn**_..." It called out to her. A distant whisper, yet it also felt like it was right in her ear.

" _ **He will die**_."

Suddenly, some sort of ceiling came into view. Her heartbeat was going a hundred miles a minute, her breath nearly as quick.

Dawn sat up from her bunk, utterly confused as to what just happened. A voice in the dark...urging her on. Was it her mother again? As she sat upright, she then felt something drop out of her right hand with a soft 'thud', followed by movement underneath.

There was a slight groan. "Dawn? Are you alright?"

 _Ignis_. She had completely forgotten they were holding hands all through the night, and it seemed her abrupt awakening woke him up.

She sighed, a heavy feeling of guilt started to surface. "Sorry, Iggy...yeah, I'm...I'm fine."

The sun was well on its way; the sky was a dark blue, getting brighter and brighter as the minutes went by.

"You don't seem 'fine'." The brunette's voice was quiet. All of the other boys were still calmly asleep in their respective bunks, save for Gladiolus, who spent the night on the floor.

Dawn's pale hand met with her face, still trying to remember let alone make sense of the weird dream as a headache ensued. This wasn't exactly the best start of the day...

"No, really...I just...have a little headache that's all." She tried to soothe her lover's worries, but she knew better. He wasn't the type to let things go easily.

Being as quiet as possible, Ignis got up from his bunk and put on his glasses. He startled the redhead as he stood up to look at her. "I'm up anyways. Why don't we go outside to talk?"

"But..." She made a slight pouting face, showing that sleep was what she desired more at the moment.

"Come now, we need to be awake in about an hour anyhow, and I trust you won't be able to fall back asleep in that time."

He had a point. They did need to be awake early in order to reach Lestallum at a reasonable hour, and Dawn wouldn't be happy with just thirty minutes of sleep. She might as well take up the offer... _'The bird, up early, catches the worms'_...or whatever that human saying was.

"Alright, alright. Let's go then."

By some sort of miracle, the two managed to slip out of the caravan without disturbing the others. The sky was slightly brighter now, with a cold morning breeze to accompany it. The redhead shivered in response, for her white tanktop didn't exactly give much warmth.

"You're shivering." Ignis pointed out. Without even waiting for a response, he pulled off his dark jacket and draped it over her shoulders with one fell ' _swoop_ '. "There."

She gave a small chuckle. "Always the gentleman." She said as her goosebump-covered arms found their way into the cozy sleeves. "Thank you."

Suddenly, she was surrounded by his scent. It smelled of coffee...and...fried food? Whatever it was, it was an **amazing** combination.

"Quite odd that you even **get** cold, with you being a fire fairy and all." Said Ignis in curiosity. The redhead expected him to bring it up.

"It takes a little bit of time for my powers to get going when I wake up." She said. "They lie dormant while I'm asleep."

He nodded thoughtfully, understanding what she meant. "I see...similar to fireplaces."

"Fireplaces?"

"Yes. After the flames have been exstinguished, it takes time and effort for them to alight and rage once more."

His simile between her inner powers and fireplaces almost sounded...poetic. Even better was that it actually made sense.

"You could put it that way, yeah." She agreed.

The pair then started to walk towards the public area that was full of tables and chairs. At this time of day, no one was out, making it the perfect opportunity to just sit and talk. Ignis was concerned about Dawn and what she was dreaming about, for he knew that sometimes her mother would reach out to her in various ways. Maybe this was one of them?

They found the closest table and sat opposite each other in the two chairs. By now, the sun was peeking from the horizon, its warm light bathing the surrounding area and chasing off any and all deamons. Dawn took the time to let her eyes wander and take in the view.

There was nothing like this at home. All there was was the grey volcanic ash, accompanied by the dusty brown sky. There was no lush greenery or fresh air where she lived. The redhead let her lungs fill with the open air, feeling it give her life...this was a new and refreshing sensation.

The brunette instead was looking at the woman before him. Her eyes were tired, her body slumped slightly. Dawn was just overall...exhausted; the weight of her family and the vision was heavy upon her shoulders...and it showed. Ignis silently wished he could take it all away, if even for a day.

"So, if you don't mind me asking...what caused such an abrupt awakening?" He asked her, voice gentle.

Dawn's trance in the environment was interrupted, her gaze returning to his concerned face. "I told you, Iggy...I'm alright. There's no need to worry."

"Dawn, please...I can tell it's important. I don't mean to pry, but..."

She sighed. "Alright...you win. I'll tell you." Her hands rested on the table, her face getting slightly closer to his. He felt bad for pushing, but this was something he couldn't ignore. If it really was her mother...there could be danger. "It...it was my mother...I think. I heard some sort of voice as I was sleeping..."

 _Just great_. He had a feeling this would happen. He did the same as her, resting his hands on the cold table and leaning forward. "What did she say?"

Dawn's eyebrows creased, trying hard to remember. "She said..." She started, pausing between her words. Why was it getting harder to remember? "...Something like...'find me'...and...'Insomnia'."

"I see...so you were correct all along. Your mother wants you to find her there."

She nodded. "Yeah...I guess so." Her eyes lowered to her slender hands, deep in thought. "But why? Insomnia is in ruins...overrun with the Empire and probably deamons and MTs...why **there**?"

Ignis frowned slightly. "I haven't the faintest idea. Are you sure there's no special connection between you and Insomnia?"

"I'm sure. I've never even known of its existence before coming to Eos and meeting you."

He sighed. There was no clear reason as to why it was Insomnia right now...but maybe it had something to do with her mother? She might have gotten involved with the booming city at some point without her daughter's knowledge...but this was all speculation. Nothing can be proved until she actually sees her in person.

"Dawn." He said, looking into her forest green eyes.

She copied him, though her eyes seemed to be out of focus, like she was somewhere else at the moment. "Yes?"

Without really thinking, Ignis gently covered her smaller hands with his, feeling the warmth emanating off of them. Her inner 'fireplace' must be back to normal. "You still want to go see her, don't you?" He said.

Her face dropped a little. "I..." She looked back down at their hands together. "Iggy..."

"It's alright, you can tell me. I promise I won't get angry."

"I know you won't, it's just..." She tried to convey what was going on inside her mind. "I said I would stay, and I am sticking by that. Leaving you is too dangerous."

A worn thumb started to slowly rub her knuckles. "I know." He said soothingly, trying to keep her calm about the whole situation. "But I understand that in your heart, you still want...no, **need** to see her again. Somehow."

She did not meet his gaze. Vision went slightly blurred as tears started to gather, like a pool starting to fill. "I...I do..." She said quietly. "She has the truth, and...I just..."

Her voice seemed to dissipate into the open air, her words failing to find traction anymore. The more she dwelled on it, the more it hurt, despite her being happy here with her love and new family. It made her sad knowing the truth might never come to light.

The brunette knew that this would keep bothering her. She was trapped here with him because of the vision, never to learn of what compelled her mother to do such horrid things. It made him sad to see her like this.

His hands squeezed hers lovingly. He knew nothing he could say could really fix the situation, but he had to try nonetheless. "It will be alright."

The woman didn't respond, her eyes glued to the table before her. It was no good...he had to try harder.

So be it.

Ignis rose up from his chair, pulling away his hands from Dawn's. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

She finally looked at him as he suddenly started to walk away into the woods for some reason. "W-what? Where are you going?"

"Just wait there, if you please. I'll only be a minute."

Dawn stared in confusion and slight panic as his light brown spikes disappeared into the shrubbery. Was he angry at her or something? What was he even doing?

But, she did as she was told and stayed put, patiently waiting for her lover to return. Maybe he really was upset about the whole thing...of course it was a bad idea to say anything... _idiot_.

About a minute passed in silence until the brown spikes appeared again. His clothes were slightly smeared in green, a few leaves left resting on his shoulders and back. The man approaches her with arms behind him, out of view.

"I have returned, as promised." He said slyly.

Eyes wandered up and down his person, studying the strange circumstances that he found himself in just a minute ago. "Um...what happened, Iggy?"

Without answering, Ignis moved his arms in front again, revealing his strange secret. In his hands were about a dozen flowers, all different hues and patterns. Her sight was filled with an explosion of color in front of her. There was white, blue, red, pink, yellow, orange...a very vivid bouquet that was surprisingly made in a short amount of time.

Dawn was speechless for a few seconds before responding. "W...what's this? I've never seen so many different flowers at once..."

"For you. I made sure to pick the best and brightest." He handed the redhead the flowers, letting her enjoy the look and smell for herself. In doing so, his cheeks turned a slight pink, embarrassed by his sudden actions. This kind of thing was never done before, as far as he remembered. "I...wanted to cheer you up."

"They're beautiful. Thank you..." She was moved by his act of kindness. It meant a lot for him to go through all this trouble just to make her happy...

The smell was sweet and calming, like she was in the middle of a meadow. Each flower had a slightly different scent, which all mixed together to make an aroma fit for putting someone to sleep.

"Of course. I love seeing you smile."

Her gaze returned to him once more, reminded of the fact that he was still covered in leaves and grass. It only took a few seconds to take her out of the moment and start laughing.

Ignis's face lifted in surprise. "What is so funny?"

"You're covered in shit! How did you not notice?" She exclaimed, unable to keep her laughter in check. He seemed so silly looking like that while still trying to create a tender moment with her.

"I...what?"

Still giggling, she gently put down her flowers on the table and approached him. "Here, I'll get it."

She combed his body, front and back, picking off the various leaves and such as she continued laughing to herself. "Man, you got this stuff all over you!"

"My apologies. I was more focused on finding the right flowers."

"There, all done. You're green-free now." She finished.

The brunette turned around to face his helper. "Thank you. I couldn't imagine looking like that in front of the others." He said with a sigh of relief.

"No problem, just don't make a habit of running off into the woods, okay?" Dawn snickered.

Out of the blue, his hand slowly met with her cheek, caressing it. His bright eyes locked onto hers. "Well, can't say I'll promise that. The whole endeavor was worth seeing you smile and laugh."

Her cheeks turned red, her laughter dying down to peaceful silence. She never knew Ignis had such a loving and sweet side to him to this degree. Well, of course it was obvious after what he did during the chocobo incident, and making her that cake, but this was more than she expected. It was like she was his whole world.

To be perfectly honest, it felt a little...unnatural.

"You're so sweet..." She placed her hand on his. "I didn't know you cared for me this much."

"Of course I do, Dawn." He replied with his signature smooth voice. "You mean a lot to me."

Yellow sunlight seeped through the trees, enveloping them in light. A cool breeze made the branches sway back and forth, creating a calming rustling sound that grew louder and softer. The scent of the freshly picked bouquet wafted towards the pair occasionally.

"You mean a lot to me too." She responded softly, as if the breeze was her voice. Her heart beat faster and faster, swelling with emotion. This sensation was still somewhat new to her. She could hear the heartbeat in her ears.

The feeling was taking her away, and it seemed like it was taking him away as well as he slowly got closer. Time seemed to slow, the world coming to a halt, as if the pair had made it so. Dawn wasn't sure what was happening, but whatever it was, she wanted it to continue.

As he got even closer, she closed her eyes, feeling the breeze move her hair and stir her soul. The heartbeat was even faster now, almost to a deafening degree. He was mere inches away.

Ignis himself wasn't sure what was happening either, this just seemed...right. He was compelled to do this somehow. He could feel Dawn's radiating warmth as his lips drew closer to hers, but he could tell there was something more...she was warmer than usual, and not because he was so close to her.

Finally, their noses touched, and their lips were only a mere inch apart.

He wondered what kissing Dawn would feel like, and now was his chance to find out. It also seemed like she wanted this, too.

This girl that has never known love...never known affection...he was going to give her all that she wanted.

" **HEY GUYS**!"

The moment was immediately over. The lover's lips backed away from each other quickly as they both looked towards the direction of the interruption.

Out in the distance was Gladio, waving at the pair to catch their attention. "You okay over there?"

Dawn was frozen in place, her mind numb from what just happened-or, what would have happened if Gladiolus didn't cut in. They were...they were going to...

"We're fine. Dawn just needed some fresh air, that's all." Ignis responded after clearing his throat with a hardy 'ahem'. His face was beet red.

"Just about everyone's up. Let's have some grub!" Gladio said, obviously looking for breakfast already. He turned around and headed back towards the caravan.

Dawn and Ignis sat in an awkward silence for a minute, not sure what to say. They had nearly shared their first kiss on a whim, and the moment was gone as quick as it came.

"Well...we should...um...head back." Said the brunette, not looking at her.

"Y...Yeah." The redhead finally found her words again. After grabbing her flowers, the two headed back to their shelter, neither saying a word out of embarrassment. Hopefully the tattooed man didn't see anything.

 _Damn Gladio, butting in at the worst possible time._

 **Fluff galore, I know. XD Not sure what the next chapter will entail yet, but I'll figure it out.**

 **Also an important note: for those of you who think the romance is happening too fast, there is actually a reason as to why, but I won't spoil that.**

 **Thanks for reading and supporting!**


	19. Ghosts of the Past

**Man, I didn't think it would take me this long to update again. I wrote half of the chapter, and I was proud, but then a LOT of intense things happened in my life. So, I usually wasn't in the mood or too busy to write. It's all better now, though.**

 **I didn't expect all these favs and follows over the course of 2 months (since I last updated)! Thank you so much to all who read and supports me, as always! It truly means a lot.**

 **This is my Christmas present to you all: A nice long chapter with interesting stuff happening! I know it's a little late, but Happy Holidays! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and look forward to what comes next.**

 **Oh and by the way, I found a song that is perfect for the fanfiction overall. It's called "Pieces" by Rob Thomas (one of my favorite artists) and it fits so well with the story in my opinion. Give it a listen!**

Dawn's mind raced as her and her lover returned to the caravan. Things were happening so fast, everything seemed like a blur right now. For years, she's alone and scraping for survival, and then one day she finds her dream. This...had to be too good to be true.

Her thoughts focused once more on her dream and the conversation with Ignis. What was he planning to do? Why did it matter so much to him about the whole situation with one dream? Heck, anything to do with her mother. Maybe he was up to something...

Her hand tightened around the beautiful bouquet he had given; the scent and sight putting her at ease.

"Mornin', guys." Greeted Prompto as he stepped down from their temporary shelter, blonde hair going in all different directions. Ignis offered a nod in response.

"Good morning. I'll be preparing breakfast soon."

"Sweet! I'm sure that'll bring Noct out of bed."

Sighing slightly, the brunette pushed up his glasses as he went back into the trailer to contemplate on their meal. "As always."

Dawn stood in front of the steps for a moment. "Do you need my help with anything?" She asked.

He turned around to look back at her. "Hmm...no, I think not. You should relax outside and leave it to me this time."

"But..." She was slightly taken aback by the suggestion. Didn't he want her to learn?

"No buts." He gave a soft smile. "Our little cooking sessions can wait. I insist."

Without waiting for a protest, he disappeared into the tiny kitchen to work his magic. The redhead, still confused, decided not to push further.

"Dawn! Over here!" The energetic blonde waved at her from the white table. "We can wait together."

"Well...alright." She said, walking over to the chair that stood across from him. He gave a bright smile as Dawn sat down.

Not even a minute passed before Prompto started talking, eager to get to know his redheaded friend better. "Sooo...what have you been up to?" A sly smirk plastered his face.

"Uhh...what do you mean? You make it sound like I robbed someone." However, she knew full well what he meant.

"Aw, come on! A secret meeting in the wee hours of the morning...two kindred spirits alone together...spill the beans!"

"Prompto-I...uh...we didn't..." Cheeks grew hot under the microscope that was Prompto's blue eyes. What was she suppose to say?

"Relaaaax, Sleeping Beauty. I'm only playing! Whatever happened with you and Iggy is your buisness." Said the sharpshooter, yet his slight pout was showing otherwise...

Despite the clear disappointment, the fairy calmed down. There was no way she was going to describe the kiss she was going to share with Ignis.

Prompto grew serious as his eyebrows creased, his voice not as shrill and full of energy. "But, seriously...how are you holding up, buddy? You seem a little...I don't know...distressed?"

Green eyes met with blue. Not this again. "I'm alright. There's no need to worry about me. I've just had some long days, you know?"

Thankfully, Prompto wasn't as headstrong as Ignis was. "Oh. Well, that's good to hear. It's just...with your mother and all..." His face slumped.

"Prompto?"

"Look, Dawn. I..." His eyebrows creased even more with thought. "I just want you to know that we're **all** here for you, ok? We haven't really known each other for that long, but..." His gaze returned to her. "You can rely on me."

The redhead smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Prom. I know I can. I'm...I'm glad I am not alone."

"Prom?" His blonde head cocked sideways in confusion.

"Yeah, Prom. Prompto is becoming a bit of a mouthful." She chuckled. "Besides, I think you're the only one without a nickname...besides chocobo butt, that is."

Once again, 'Prom's hand reached up to cover his wild locks that were compared to an animal's rear end. " **Heeey**!"

At that moment, Gladiolus appeared from the bushes, taking a seat next to Prompto and Dawn. "Man, I'm starving." He said.

"You disappear into the wilderness quite often. What's the deal?" Asked the fairy, noticing that the man is gone every chance he gets.

"I like taking a walk around. Do some outdoor training, gather some lumber, that sort of thing. Can't get out of shape just sitting around." The sweat on his forehead told as much.

"I suppose that makes sense. I've been slacking on my workouts lately..." She took note that there hasn't been a whole lot of opportunity let alone focus for excercise.

Gladio rested a muscular arm on top of the table, facing towards her. "Say, why don't we change that? A jog in the morning and some good old fashioned training?"

Dawn thought about it for a moment. It would help her keep in fighting shape, as well as get the chance to hopefully get to know her friend better. They had a falling out before...maybe this could help prevent it from happening again. Maybe she could gain his trust.

"Yeah, possibly. Once I help Iggy with breakfast and all that."

"Sure thing."

It was some time before their meal was ready. Dawn still wasn't quite sure why Iggy refused her help, but decided to let it go and instead enjoy his work of art with the company of everyone; she had enough of pushing matters for one day.

However, as the group ate in silence, she sneaked a look at the brunette.

He seemed focused on his food, but there was another hint of something else etched into the creases of his skin.

Worry. It became clear that Ignis was deep in thought about something...most likely what they talked about earlier this morning. Maybe that was why he decided to work alone; not wanting to drag her down to that level of discomfort again.

The redhead's heart swelled. He was willing to keep himself in a pit of darkness alone, if it meant keeping her out of it.

Once the group had finished their filling meal, they packed up their things and prepared for departure. It was finally time to continue on the original path they were taking: Noct's journey.

"Everything in order?" Ignis said out loud as everyone packed into the prized Regalia.

"Yup." Was Noct's curt reply.

"Iris has been waiting long enough." Said Gladiolus as he already held his book in one hand. "Let's get going."

"Right!" Shouted Prompto, eager as ever.

Dawn did not contribute to the conversation. Her mind was elsewhere, already at their destination. From what she heard, Lestallum was a booming city, much like Insomnia. It was hard to tell exactly what to expect from such a populated area.

On one hand, the fairy was nervous. She had never been to any sort of city before. So many eyes watching her...so many people that could potentially figure out the truth about her. On the other hand, it was exciting. This sort of experience would bring many new feelings. For a minute, it reminded her of the first time she ever went to school.

A brand new adventure that awaited her...thrilling yet terrifying. What if the people judged her? What would the teacher think of her?

A blurry face came into view; a distant and broken up voice rang in her mind. " _Don't worry...sweetie...one will...you...don't...afraid..._ "

It became more and more difficult to piece together what the voice was saying. Even so, the identity was unmistakable, no matter how plunged in the past or darkness that it was now.

It was her mother.

A different voice cuts in her thoughts. "Dawn? Can you hear me?"

The redhead managed to come back to her senses. "W-what?" She stammered, the cloudy memory dissipating.

"You ok? You blanked out on us for a second there." Prom turned at her from the passenger seat, a bewildered expression on his face.

She shook her head lightly. "I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all."

No one wanted to push her any further. With a gentle frown, Ignis started up the car and began to drive.

The trip to the ever-sunny Lestallum was a mostly silent one. Each member of the group had their own world of thoughts swirling in their mind, keeping them preoccupied. The blonde, every once in a while, would find pleasure in taking his beloved photos and sharing them to his friends. Besides that, there was no conversation.

The seemingly everlasting silence continued on until they had reached the halfway point.

Without anyone really realizing it, Ignis pulled over in the middle of the road, his brows furrowing more than normal.

"Hey, why are we stopping, Iggy?" Prompto was the first to speak, as Gladio was buried in his book until now and Dawn's eyes were heavy, rendering her slow for the moment. Noctis was, of course, fully asleep.

The cook did not respond for what seemed like forever; his eyes were fixated on whatever was in front of them. Prom gave a thoughtful 'hmm' as his gaze followed that of his friend's.

His gasp is what caught the attention of everyone else.

"What is wrong with you two?" The redhead said, lifting her head to try and see over Ignis and his tall hair. "It better be some sort of-"

She froze right then and there.

Out in the distance, there was some sort of...person. A woman. A woman with short flaming hair.

It...it couldn't be.

"No..." she whispered. "M-m..." The word failed to catch hold.

"Look closer." Her lover pointed at the obstruction in the road. "She doesn't seem normal."

The blonde photographer squinted at the woman, following Iggy's instructions. "Wait, _she_? We nearly ran over a _girl_?"

The sound of movement came from the back of the car. "What's with the wake up call?" said the dark-haired Prince, stretching as he did so.

Gladio finally lowered his book, catching on that this interruption wasn't some stupid bird that Prompto saw or Ignis's Ebony spilling on his lap. This was serious.

"I...what...I don't see..." Dawn's words were failing her over the fact that she was staring at what seemed like her mother about 15 feet away. The brunette grabbed her hand tightly, knowing full well what she was feeling.

"Look. She's transparent." Noting this weird occurrence, he looked into her eyes. "Dawn, this isn't your actual mother. She's an illusion."

Prom shook his head in disbelief. "W-What?! An illusion?! O-of...Dawn's mom?!"

Both Gladio and Noctis half-stood in surprise to see for themselves. Sure enough, as they gazed at the 'illusion', the rocks and dirt directly behind her were visible. This was some sort of...ghost. But why?

"Illusion..." Dawn whispered. "But...she..."

Her hand felt warm as it was squeezed tighter. "We should find a way around." Ignis said calmly. "Everyone, back in your seats. We're turning around."

The startled group did as they were told, lowering themselves back into the comforting leather of the Regalia. "What in the hell..." The muscular man said, almost to himself. He was the last person to ever believe in ghosts.

But as the royal advisor looked into the rear-view mirror and began to shift, a pale hand suddenly hit his chest. "Wait...Ignis." His lover's voice was quiet...almost as if half of it was taken with the wind. He stopped what he was doing and returned his gaze to the road in front.

Everyone was quiet as they watched the so-called 'ghost' turn around and start walking in the other direction.

A heavy veil hung in the air. The smell of burning brush lingered. Smoke was nearly visible in the sky, and all around them. What in the world was happening?

Every step, there was a blaze of fire left in the wake. Every footprint a small pit of flame. The flame then started to spread, further and further, to the left and right, as if there was a trail of oil guiding it.

The path of fire reached the rocky cliffs, climbing its rugged surface to reach the top. The group stood mesmerized as a giant 'U' shape was formed behind the ghost, a gateway to fiery hell crackling against the road and rock. It seemed incredibly real.

And then, the 'illusion' was gone. As she disappeared behind the towering rock that was around the corner, so did the fire. The flames, the musky air, the smoke-all of it, gone in a second. It was as if nothing ever happened.

"I...I don't understand..." The daughter of the mysterious and illusive woman managed to say after a good minute of silence. "Why...what was..."

"That was your crazy mom?" Gladio turned towards her. "Seemed like a charmer."

Without a response from her, Noctis spoke up. "That's...pretty creepy. Didn't think we'd be seeing her..."

"We need to continue on." Ignis cut in, his hands already on the wheel. "Lestallum is still a ways away, and we haven't much daylight."

With that, the group turned around and headed to another route. Silence greeted them once more as no one wanted to bring up the subject of what they had witnessed.

Dawn's lover decided at that point that he needed to be strong, for all of them. He didn't know why Zafirah was haunting her daughter, but he wouldn't allow it to fester in her mind or in the minds of his friends. They needed to continue this journey one way or another with a straight head, and he was determined to be the one to provide.

If he was being honest with himself, he felt torn. Torn between his newfound lover and his king. Both we're extremely important to him, and both had the right to their own journeys and problems, but he could only do so much at one time. He had to be there for Dawn when she found herself staggering. He had to be there for Noctis as he found his way to ascension.

He would do the best he could; for everyone. The thought of the ghost was shaken from his mind, a resolve forming in his heart.

It took some time to reach Lesallum, Dawn deep in thought the whole way there. She couldn't figure out for the life of her why Zafirah was doing this. What was her goal? It had to have something to do with the vision, that's for sure...but what in the world did a ghost have to do with it all? What did it all mean?

The car stopped moving again. She looked up from her lap, hands letting go of the edge of her shirt.

"We have arrived." Said Ignis, already getting out of the black vehicle.

"Woohoo! We made it!" Prompto said in his energetic self, hoping to keep everyone's minds on the moment rather than the haunting they had seen before. "Can't wait to see Iris!"

"She probably thinks we got lost." Gladio said as he, too, exited the car, his muscular figure relieving weight.

Dawn and Noctis were last to follow suit, their feet hitting the warm ground. The air felt heavy and humid, the sun offering to cook anything that stood on the ground for too long. This felt completely normal to Dawn, her skin basking in the heat.

The others clearly weren't the same. Already their foreheads were beaded with sweat, their faces shouting that they wished black wasn't the custom for Insomnian people.

The redhead's focus fell onto the city before her; forest green eyes were filled with color and people as they swept the entirety of the place. All different kinds of pipes, buildings, vegetation, and wires littered Lestallum. What a strange place this was.

She silently wondered to herself if Zafirah had seen this too.

"Dawn." She heard Ignis call. His gloved hand met with hers. "Let's go. I think you will enjoy yourself here."

She nodded, her high ponytail swaying with the movement. Lips slightly bent upwards, giving him a gentle smile. It was good that he was here.

The pair joined the rest of the group, already venturing into the maze of pipes and brick that was Lestallum to find Iris.

 **I had a hard time figuring out what would happen during the trip, but I managed to throw a spin in there. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll try and work on another soon!**

 **Oh yeah, I just checked and on the 24th was the anniversary of this fanfiction! Can't believe its been a year already. Here's to another year full of fun and imagination!**


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